A British mother who went to die at a clinic in Switzerland had lost her 26-year-old son just 19 months before.
Anne Canning, who according to her family was not terminally ill, ended her life at Pegasos clinic at the age of 51, without telling her loved ones of her plans.
Her son Joe Canning, a 26-year-old tennis instructor, died suddenly just 19 months previously, the MailOnline reports.
The family thought she had gone on holiday to Switzerland, and only found out she had gone to the clinic and was likely dead after receiving ‘goodbye’ letters in the post that outlined her intentions.
After Anne’s sister Delia sent several emails to Pegasos asking them to confirm whether on not she had ended her life at their clinic, she was told by the clinic that they had indeed helped her die.
The non-profit organisation, situated near the city of Basel, had previously promised to call families to let them know in advance of their loved-one’s death.
They made the vow after a similar case in which British mum Judith Hamilton, 82, confronted the Pegasos owner following the secret death of her son Alastair, 46, at the clinic.
In her ‘goodbye’ letter to her sister Delia, Anne, from Haverfordwest, Wales wrote: ‘If you’re reading this, I am no longer here.
‘I have thought about this long and hard and need to find [my son] and ask him some questions.
‘There is nothing you could have done, because this was my decision to go to Switzerland and be in peace… I can’t keep going and get older and older without my son.’
Delia told ITV News that Anne was ‘one of the healthiest people we know’, and as far as she was aware, was not terminally ill.
She added:’Anyone who loses a child probably wants to die and be with them… But with the right help, she could have got through it.’
A funeral director’s death notice on Facebook shows that Anne’s son Joe, of Johnston near Haverfordwest, ‘sadly passed away suddenly’ on July 19, 2023.
Online tributes described him as an ‘amazing young man’ and ‘a lovely lad’ who had ‘the kindest heart’.
Delia told ITV News that when Pegasos finally replied to her emails, they told her: ‘Anne no longer wanted to live, she felt alone and superfluous. She also did not want to grow old. This is a free decision of a free person.’
She said Anne’s death and the manner in which it was handled had ‘absolutely devastated the family… It has destroyed us’.
Like Anne, chemistry teacher Alastair did not have a diagnosed illness, and his family thought he was going on holiday.
In reality, Pegasos had accepted his online application form claiming a condition was causing him devastating ‘pain, fatigue and discomfort’.
His mother only found out he had died after reporting Alastair missing when he failed to return home and stopped answering calls. Bank records revealed an £11,000 payment to Pegasos.
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A Pegasos spokesperson said: ‘According to our protocols we do check to the best of our abilities that persons we assist have informed their loved ones of their plans to die.
‘Should we have reason to assume that no information has been provided to close family, we will refrain from proceeding without credible proof that they are aware. This hasn’t been the case lately.
‘We understand that the assisted death of a loved person is a distressing time for the family. We are very sorry if Pegasos’s actions or communications have caused further distress to any affected family member at any time and thoroughly consider all concerns.
‘Finally, we’d like to emphasise that – since our foundation in 2019 – all our actions have been in accordance with Swiss law.’
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