British families have accused the Swiss association Pegasos of helping their loved ones to die without genuine medical justification. Based in canton Solothurn, the organisation defends its legality and ethics, but its methods have reignited debate about the limits of assisted suicide in Switzerland. In a London suburb, Judith Hamilton is living a nightmare. Her son Alastair, 47, had told her he was going on holiday to Paris. A few days later, police discovered that he had instead travelled to Switzerland to die with the help of Pegasos, an assisted suicide organisation. “He hugged me and said, ‘I love you, Mum’. I didn’t know it was his farewell,” says Hamilton. Alastair had been suffering from unexplained abdominal pain but was not terminally ill. “His life wasn’t perfect, but it was one that thousands of people would have been happy to have,” his mother adds. When she later checked her bank statements, she found a payment of CHF12,000 ($15,100) to Pegasos. “It’s like a business.
