Five British people are accepted every month to have their lives ended at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland that does not require people to be physically ill.
According to an investigation by The Times, around 65 British people per year are accepted to have their lives ended at Pegasos, an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland.
The clinic, which was founded in 2019, does not require any evidence that applicants are physically ill in order for them to be accepted to have their lives ended. Pegasos only rejects applicants who fail the mental capacity assessment that Swiss law requires them to administer.
It was also revealed that 18% of “Pegasos supporters”, people who pay an annual contribution to the organisation, are British.
Perry Davenport, a spokesman for Pegasos, said, “Pegasos have a wider interpretation of who will qualify [compared to other assisted suicide clinics] – there’s no doubt about that”.
“You have to have mental capacity to make a decision and there is a thorough psychiatric examination. But just because someone is depressed doesn’t mean to say they are not mentally competent”, he said.
Pegasos under scrutiny after death of British woman who was not physically ill
Pegasos has been in the news recently after Wendy Duffy, a 56-year-old former care worker from the West Midlands, died at the Pegasos clinic in Switzerland on Friday 24 April.
Wendy did not have any physical illness but said she was unable to recover from the death of her 23-year-old son.
“That’s when I died too, inside”, Wendy said. “I’m not the same person now as I was. I used to feel things. I’d go to funerals after Marcus died, and I’d feel nothing. It’s why I had to give up work. You can’t be a carer if you don’t care, and I’m sorry, but I don’t. I don’t care about anything any more. I exist. I don’t live”, she added.
Wendy had attempted to take her own life nine months after her son’s death but, after failing, wished to have her life ended at Pegasos, claiming they would do a “neater” job.
“I could step off a motorway bridge or a tower block but that would leave anyone finding me dealing with that for the rest of their lives”, she stated. “I don’t want to put anyone through that”.
Wendy kept her four siblings in the dark as to when she was planning to end her life.
In an interview just before she boarded her flight to Switzerland, Wendy said, “It will be hard for everyone. But I want to die, and that’s what I’m going to do”.
“But it’s what I want and I’m going to get it one way or another”, she said. “I’m sorry if that makes me sound arrogant”.
Pegasos revelations come as the assisted suicide Bill in England and Wales falls
These revelations have come after the assisted suicide Bill for England and Wales failed in the House of Lords at the prorogation of Parliament.
The fall of the assisted suicide Bill comes as new polling suggests that the Bill would likely fail if it were reintroduced to the House of Commons, and an analysis reveals there have been near-unprecedented levels of opposition to the Bill in the House of Lords.
New polling from JL Partners has also revealed that the public does not support Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill, even among those who support assisted suicide in principle, and it does not support forcing the Bill into law without the consent of the House of Lords.
Another recent poll published from More In Common showed that the majority of the public does not support bypassing the House of Lords to force through the assisted suicide Bill, as would occur if the Parliament Acts were invoked in relation to the Bill in the next parliamentary session, as Lord Falconer has threatened.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “It is terribly sad that so many British people are being accepted to end their lives at this clinic each year”.
“The manner in which the Pegasos clinic preys on people who are obviously vulnerable is deeply reprehensible”.
“People who are suffering – whether with physical or mental problems – should be made to feel cared for and supported, and should be given all the help they require to live full lives. The assisted suicide Bill, as written, would have provided assistance to a person in ending their own life due to depression if they were thought to have six months or less to live. Fortunately, the Bill has failed”.
“With the fall of the assisted suicide Bill in Westminster, it is time for politicians to work collectively to ensure that high-quality care and support, including end-of-life and palliative care, is made available to all”.
