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Daughter devastated to learn of mother’s assisted suicide through WhatsApp, and she’s not alone

Published

2 months ago

7 minute read

From LifeSiteNews

By  Jonathon Van Maren

An Irish mother with mental health problems killed herself under Switzerland’s permissive euthanasia regime without telling her family. Similar horror stories are happening in Canada, and the UK may be next.

Last month, Megan Royal discovered that her mother had ended her life by assisted suicide when she received a WhatsApp message from Swiss suicide center Pegasos, letting her know that her mother’s ashes would be sent to her via mail. 

Fifty-eight-year-old Maureen Slough was from Cavan, Ireland, and told her family that she would be vacationing with a friend in Lithuania. Instead, the recently retired civil servant traveled to Switzerland, where the facility says she died by lethal injection, listening to a song by Elvis Presley. Her family, including her “partner” Mick Lynch, who had spoken to her the day she died, had no idea that she was planning assisted suicide. 

Slough, who had suffered through the deaths of two of her daughters, attempted suicide in 2024, and her daughter Megan Royal says she was suffering mental anguish. “She had told us she was going to Lithuania, but she had confided in two people that she had other plans,” Royal told the press. “And after a series of concerned phone calls she said she would come home, but then we got the WhatsApp message to say she had died.”  

The suicide cost €15,000. Several weeks later, Royal and Lynch received goodbye letters from Maureen in the mail. Royal is heartbroken and outraged.  

“They should not have allowed her to make that decision on her own,” she said. “This group did not contact me, even though my mother had nominated me as next of kin. They waited until afterwards and then told me she had died listening to an Elvis Presley song.” Pegasos claims that they were provided with a letter from Royal affirming her knowledge of the suicide, verified through an email address. Royal received no email; the family says the letter was likely forged. 

According to UK Right to Life, Slough’s brother Philip, a U.K. solicitor, “has written to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, urging them to investigate the matter with the Swiss authorities … he said that Pegasos had failed to follow its own policy of informing family, adding ‘it appears my sister provided Pegasos with letters of complaint to medical authorities in Éire in respect of bogus medical conditions, and that these documents were considered by Pegasos in support of her application.’” 

He continued: “While I understand that Swiss law permits assisted dying, the Pegasos clinic has faced numerous criticisms in the UK for their practices with British nationals, and the circumstances in which my sister took her life are highly questionable.” Assisted suicide has been legal in Switzerland since 1941 and is only illegal for the ambiguous reason of “selfish motives.” Switzerland has long been a destination for suicide tourism, and UK Right to Life noted that “Pegasos was at the centre of a similar controversy  earlier this year when a British mother, Anne, ended her life at the Pegasos  assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland without informing her family.” 

Many are already observing that if Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill becomes law in the United Kingdom, similar scenarios could soon be a reality in the UK. MP Danny Kruger attempted to table an amendment earlier this year requiring people seeking assisted suicide to sign a document declaring whether they had informed their family of their plan; it was ignored.  

“That is the saddest thing, which was hinted at quite strongly – in fact, stated explicitly – in some of the evidence sessions,” Kruger told the House. “It has been suggested that wanting a loved one to live is seen by doctors as a form of coercion that should be resisted; that trying to argue a loved one out of an assisted death is the coercion that we need to guard against and, on that basis, we should not be making any expectation that families are informed.”  

Kruger is not exaggerating. At a press conference in British Columbia for MP Tamara Jansen’s Bill C-218, which would ban euthanasia for those suffering from mental illness, Alicia Duncan told the gut-wrenching story of discovering that her mother had been euthanized after being hospitalized for a mental health crisis – and finding out about her mother’s death via text message.

If the House of Lords passes Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill – and if MP Tamara Jansen’s “Right to Recover Act” fails to pass this fall – stories like that of Maureen Slough will become excruciatingly common. Parliamentarians must act to protect the vulnerable. If they do not, children discovering that their parents have died by suicide and that their ashes are in the mail will no longer be a horrifying aberration, but a social norm.

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International

Trump gets an honourable mention: Nobel winner dedicates peace prize to Trump

Published on October 11, 2025

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MXM logo MxM News

Quick Hit:

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to President Donald Trump, praising his “decisive support” for Venezuela’s fight against dictatorship.

Key Details:

  • The Norwegian Nobel Committee honored Machado for “promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” and her peaceful efforts to restore democracy after years of socialist rule under Nicolás Maduro.
  • In her acceptance message on X, Machado said she dedicated the prize “to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump,” calling the recognition a “boost” to finish the nation’s “task to conquer freedom.”
  • The announcement follows Trump’s successful mediation of a peace agreement between Hamas and Israel, ending a two-year conflict and prompting new calls for Trump himself to be recognized with the prize.

Diving Deeper:

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her decades-long effort to restore democracy to Venezuela. The Norwegian Nobel Committee commended her for “bringing her country’s opposition together,” “resisting the militarization of Venezuelan society,” and maintaining her “steadfast support for a peaceful transition to democracy.”

Shortly after the announcement, Machado posted a message dedicating the award “to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause.” She continued, “We are on the threshold of victory, and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve freedom and democracy.”

The recognition came just days after a Trump-negotiated peace agreement between Hamas and Israel was signed, potentially ending two years of war in the region. The timing has fueled renewed discussion of Trump’s growing international legacy — particularly as Machado becomes one of many global leaders to credit him for advancing peace abroad.

Trump has long expressed interest in receiving a Nobel Peace Prize, citing his administration’s historic peace deals and conflict resolutions during both his first and current terms. In January, Trump voiced strong support for Machado and Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement, praising her for “peacefully expressing the voices and the will of the Venezuelan people.”

Machado has faced years of political persecution by Venezuela’s socialist regime. Her candidacy in last year’s presidential election was blocked by Maduro’s government over alleged financial irregularities, forcing her to endorse another opposition candidate. Though the opposition claimed victory, Maduro refused to relinquish power.

In awarding her the Nobel Peace Prize, the committee noted that Machado “meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel’s will” — disarmament, the brotherhood of nations, and the promotion of peace. Her acknowledgment of Trump, however, underscored the American president’s continued influence in global democratic movements.

Machado concluded her statement with a call to perseverance: “This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task — to conquer freedom.”

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Business

Trump Warns Beijing Of ‘Countermeasures’ As China Tightens Grip On Critical Resources

Published on October 11, 2025

By

 

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Melissa O’Rourke

Despite their strategic significance, the U.S. imports 80% of the rare earths it consumes, primarily from China, which dominates global production and controls roughly 92% of the world’s refining capacity.

President Donald Trump on Friday threatened China with a massive tariff hike and hinted his upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping could be canceled as a result of Beijing’s latest escalation in trade hostilities.

China ramped up its economic pressure campaign this week, first by imposing new export controls Thursday on rare earth minerals critical to the production of vehicles, weapons systems, and other advanced technologies. On Friday, Beijing escalated further, announcing new port fees on American ships and launching an antitrust investigation into U.S. tech giant Qualcomm.

In response to what he described as “great trade hostility,” Trump said there was “no reason” to meet with Xi in South Korea later this month.

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“Dependent on what China says about the hostile ‘order’ that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move. For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two,” the president posted on Truth Social.

Trump announced later on Friday that the U.S. would impose a 100% tariff on China starting Nov. 1, in addition to existing levies, and implement export controls on “any and all critical software.” He added that the tariffs could go into effect sooner, “depending on any further actions or changes taken by China.”

Despite their strategic significance, the U.S. imports 80% of the rare earths it consumes, primarily from China, which dominates global production and controls roughly 92% of the world’s refining capacity.

Under the new rules, foreign suppliers must obtain Beijing’s approval to export any product made with Chinese rare-earth processing technology or containing rare-earth materials that comprise as little as 0.1% of the item’s value. The restrictions also extend to the export of technology used in rare-earth mining, smelting, and magnet manufacturing, and add five more rare-earth elements to China’s existing control list.

Trump warned that Beijing’s move could “clog” global markets and “make life difficult for virtually every country in the world.”

“I have always felt that they’ve been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right! There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World “captive,” but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time,” the president wrote.

“But the U.S. has Monopoly positions also, much stronger and more far reaching than China’s. I have just not chosen to use them, there was never a reason for me to do so — UNTIL NOW!” Trump said.

The Chinese Transport Ministry also said it will begin collecting port fees on vessels owned by U.S. companies or individuals — and even those built in America — starting Oct. 14. The rollout overlaps with Washington’s plan to impose new charges on large Chinese vessels docking at U.S. ports the same day.

The president also noted that Beijing’s timing was “especially inappropriate,” noting that it coincides with the peace deal he helped broker between Israel and Hamas to bring the two-year conflict to an end.

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