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'Die with a smile': Healthy UK mother chooses assisted suicide due to THIS heartbreaking reason

'Die with a smile': Healthy UK mother chooses assisted suicide due to THIS heartbreaking reason

Wendy Duffy and her son Marcus: Heartbreaking story of the mother ending her life after losing her son Photograph: (X/TheGriftReport)

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Wendy Duffy, a 56-year-old mother from the UK, has chosen to undergo euthanasia. Here’s the part that makes this case so controversial: she is not terminally ill. Why is she choosing to die by suicide? All you need to know.

Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult life experiences most of us are cursed to bear. In the United Kingdom, a physically healthy mother who buried her son four years ago has chosen to 'Die With A Smile' at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland to escape the pain. 56-year-old Wendy Duffy was forced to choose Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal, as a hotly debated right-to-die bill has remained stalled in the UK parliament for the last year. This is her story.

Who is Wendy Duffy?

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Wendy Duffy, 56, lost her son to a freak choking incident four years ago. Her son, Marcus, died at the age of 23 after choking on a tomato that got lodged in his windpipe while he was sleeping. Following his death, Wendy tried to commit suicide by overdosing, but ended up on a ventilator for two weeks.

She says that ultimately no amount of medication or therapy could help make her feel whole again and that she "can't wait" to die. According to the New York Post, this time she wants her death to be "neater".

"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 said.

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'Die With A Smile': How much did Wendy Duffy pay for dying?

Wendy's application for euthanasia was accepted by Pegasos, a Swiss assisted-dying nonprofit organisation. She will pay $13,500 to euthanise herself under its care.

The grieving mother revealed that she has already decided what she will wear to her deathbed. Talking to Daily Mail, she revealed that Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ "Die With A Smile" will be playing as she passes on. She acknowledged that it will be difficult to bid goodbye to her siblings, four sisters and two brothers. But, she said that she will call them when she gets to Switzerland. "It will be a hard call where I’ll say goodbye and thank them. But they will get it. They know. Honestly, 100%, they know that I’m not happy, that I don’t want to be here," she said.

Blast from the past?

Wendy's decision to die despite being healthy has brought back memories of Noella Castillo, a healthy 5-year-old sexual gang rape victim. Castillo's death by assisted suicide in Spain last month had sparked an international uproar, with the Donald trump administration ordering the US Embassy in Madrid to open an investigation into Spanish law enforcement's handling of the brutal sexual assault against her.

If you or someone you know wants help for mental well being, don't hesitate to talk to a professional. Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, 98204 66726, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata), Parivarthan (Bangalore) +91 76766 02602

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Moohita Kaur Garg

Moohita Kaur Garg is a journalist and Senior Sub-Editor at WION News with five years of experience covering the volatile intersections of geopolitics and global security. She has e...Read More