August 22, 2025
Irish Woman Angry at Pegasos Clinic’s Changes
‘Close your doors and go away’ – Irish woman angry at assisted suicide clinic’s changes
Grieving Irish woman, Megan Royal, is disappointed and “more angry” about suicide clinic’s proposed changes after learning of mother’s death earlier this summer via a WhatsApp message’ by Paige Foley.
Irish woman, Megan Royal, learnt of her mother’s death by assisted suicide last month when she received a WhatsApp message from a volunteer at the clinic.
Maureen Slough, 58, travelled to Switzerland unbeknownst to her family to carry out the procedure.
Her daughter, Megan, has since spoken out about the lack of safeguarding procedures to ensure that families are informed on their loved one’s intentions in travelling to the Swiss facility.
Megan spoke on Lunchtime Live with Andrea Gilligan, on Tuesday, August 19, about recent updates she has received from the assisted suicide clinic of proposed changes to their application process.
The Swiss clinic in question, Pegasos, have contacted Ms Royal, having previously blocked her number, outlining their proposed changes to ensure relatives are informed prior to the death of their family member.
Megan has stated that since she has spoken out: “They [the clinic] won’t speak to me. They replied to the newspapers. And that’s what Conor had got the email regarding their new change to their policies and big promises.”
The proposed change is to no longer accept unaccompanied applicants with living family members unless they provide copies of their next of kin’s passport and allow representatives of the clinic to meet them [the next of kin] in a video call.
Megan has branded this proposed change as “totally haphazard”, stating that assisted suicide is illegal in so many countries that families may be breaking the law where they live by agreeing to the video call.
She explained: “Like my uncle said, unless a person answers the video call and says the words ‘no I do not agree’ then you are incriminated if it’s against the law in your country.”
Stating how the clinic says they “comply with Swiss law”, Megan expressed that they are “all about protecting themselves.”
Megan explained that: “I’m not saying someone who is terminally ill shouldn’t have the right to die” but rather is speaking on her personal experience of her mother Maureen who was physically healthy but was able to make this decision on her own with “only one doctor to sign off.”
Speaking to Gilligan about these proposed changes, Megan explained: “Nothing they do is going to satisfy me.”
“I don’t want policies or promises; I want to make sure this never happens to another person again.”
Megan explained that she has been in contact with other families who have had similar experiences to hers, and how they have expressed their outrage to her that promises made to them were not fulfilled and that the same circumstances have happened to another family.
Ms Royal has said that the clinic should “close your doors and go away.”
Megan Royal speaking the Andrea Gilligan on Lunchtime Live is available to listen to here – Assisted dying clinic changes policy after family was blindsided by death