The £11,000 Goodbye: Families Outraged as Death Clinic Lets Brits Die in Silence

Imagine waving goodbye to a loved one, thinking they’re off for a relaxing break, only to discover days later they’ve taken their own life at a Swiss assisted dying clinic. That’s the devastating reality for yet another British family, who were left in the dark until goodbye letters began arriving in the post.

Anne, 51, was thought to be heading to Switzerland for a January getaway. But instead, her family began receiving heartbreaking notes, including one to her sister Delia that read: “If you’re reading this, I am no longer here.” Anne had no diagnosed illness and, according to her family, was one of the healthiest people they knew. What she did suffer from, though, was intense grief following the death of her only son—something Delia believes played a huge role in her decision.

“I have thought about this long and hard and need to find [my son] and ask him some questions,” Anne wrote. “I can’t keep going and get older and older without my son”, reported Metro.co.uk.

After frantic attempts to track her down, her family eventually received confirmation from Pegasos, the Swiss assisted dying organisation, that Anne had indeed visited their clinic. Their brief message simply said: “Anne has chosen to die.” They later refused to respond to further messages from Delia, offering only a cold explanation: “Anne no longer wanted to live, she felt alone and superfluous… This is a free decision of a free person.”

What stings even more for the family is that Pegasos had previously promised to inform relatives before a death takes place. That commitment came after 82-year-old Judith Hamilton confronted them following the death of her son Alastair, 47, who also had no diagnosed illness. She’d waved him off at the airport thinking he was off on holiday, only to learn he’d paid the clinic £11,000 and ended his life days later.

“He looked me straight in the eyes and said ‘love you, mum, love you lots, always have, always will no matter what,’” Judith recalled. “I had no idea that was goodbye.”

Now, she’s furious to hear it’s happened again. “Despite what we were told, Pegasos have acted in the same heartless, cruel manner as they did when Alastair died,” she said. “I think they are despicable and should no longer be allowed to operate.”

Pegasos maintains it follows Swiss law and its own protocols. But with more British families blindsided, and assisted dying laws tightening elsewhere, questions are mounting about how much say loved ones should have—and whether “right to die” should ever mean doing so in complete secrecy.