Assisted-Suicide Cases Spotlight Legal and Ethical Tensions in the UK, Switzerland and the United States

In April 2025, Wendy Duffy, a 56-year-old British mother, paid $13,500 to the Swiss nonprofit Pegasos clinic and travelled to Basel to end her life after the 2019 death of her 23-year-old son. Two years later, in Colorado, Kim Roller pleaded guilty to felony manslaughter for helping her 91-year-old mother, Milsy Roller, die with a nitrogen-gas apparatus, a violation of the state’s 2016 medical-aid-in-dying statute. Both incidents occurred despite differing national legal frameworks for assisted death.

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Switzerland permits assisted suicide for competent adults regardless of health status. The United Kingdom’s “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill” exhausted parliamentary time in the House of Lords on 24 April 2024 and did not become law. Colorado’s 2016 right-to-die law requires a terminal illness with less than six months to live, a prescribing physician, and an uninvolved witness; the Roller case involved a healthy decedent and no medical provider.

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• Wendy Duffy – British mother seeking assisted death at Pegasos.

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• Pegasos Clinic – Swiss nonprofit that assists rational adults in ending their lives.

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• Kim Roller – Colorado daughter who facilitated her mother’s death.

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• Milsy Roller – 91-year-old Colorado resident who died by nitrogen gas.

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• Michael Dougherty – Boulder County district attorney who prosecuted the Colorado case.

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• Catholic Church – Represented by Pope Francis and the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, opposing euthanasia.

British mother to travel to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide after son’s death

Duffy’s payment to Pegasos was reported as $13,500; a separate UK case cited a £10,000 fee. In Colorado, Roller’s plea agreement required a $25,000 donation to a medical-aid-in-dying charity, two years of unsupervised probation and 80 hours of community service.

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The Catholic Church reiterated that suicide and euthanasia are “gravely immoral,” with Pope Francis describing euthanasia as “a failure of love” and emphasizing palliative care as the appropriate response. Colorado District Attorney Michael Dougherty called the Roller case “a serious, tragic case” that crossed the line of the state’s aid-in-dying law. Pegasos issued a statement confirming that Wendy Duffy’s procedure complied fully with Swiss law and with the clinic’s assessment of her mental capacity.

British mother to travel to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide after son’s death

Family members of UK patients, such as Delia Canning, criticized Pegasos for secrecy and for not encouraging alternative support. The Spanish Bishops’ Conference labeled a recent Spanish euthanasia case a “societal defeat,” reflecting broader ecclesiastical opposition.

British mother to travel to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide after son’s death

The UK right-to-die bill’s failure contrasts with Switzerland’s permissive regime, creating divergent expectations for British citizens. Colorado prosecutors highlighted that Milsy Roller was not terminally ill, a fact that conflicted with the statutory requirements of the state’s aid-in-dying law.

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• “a failure of love.” — Pope Francis, 2024 palliative-care symposium.

British mother to travel to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide after son’s death

• “She honored Milsy's wishes and now she's paying the price,” — Kim Roller’s defense attorney, courtroom statement.

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• “I can confirm that Wendy Duffy, at her own request, was assisted to die on April 24 and that the procedure was completed without incident and in full compliance with her wishes.” — Ruedi Habegger, Pegasos founder.

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• “I just wish she could have talked to somebody, one of the family or a professional, to persuade her to give it a little more time.” — Delia Canning, sister of Anne Canning.

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The stalled UK bill suggests limited legislative progress, while the Colorado prosecution may influence future enforcement of state aid-in-dying statutes. Internationally, the Catholic Church’s renewed moral arguments are likely to continue shaping public debate over assisted suicide.

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