A family in Ireland is working through the shock notification, on social media, that their mother is dead – by “assisted suicide,” in a situation about which they knew nothing.

According to the Christian Institute, Maureen Slough, 58, from County Cavan, left, telling family members she was going on holiday to Lithuania.

Instead, she went to the death-dealing Pegasos clinic in Switzerland.

Her family was notified shortly later, via social media platform WhatsApp, that she was dead.

The institute reported, “She had struggled with mental health and previously tried to commit suicide after the death of her two sisters.”

Pegasos officials claimed her daughter, Megan Royal, had confirmed her mother’s intentions, Megan said the “acknowledgment letter” probably was forged.

Writing in the Sunday Independent, columnist David Quinn stated: “It is a sad part of the human condition that nearly all of us will face very significant struggles at various points in our lives. Maureen Slough clearly did, but she had a loving daughter willing to help her,” the institute explained.

He added, “If deliberately ending someone’s life in a clinic, be it here or overseas, is all we can offer people in serious need, we have taken a very sinister turn indeed.”

Explained Nick Park, of the Evangelical Alliance Ireland, “Advocates for Assisted Suicide talk about dying with dignity, but there is little dignity on display in this sorry tale. … Creating a suicide industry may now be legal in some jurisdictions, but such practices cheapen the value of human life, and deny our wonderful identity as human beings made in the image of God.”

A report from Care.org said the family got “handwritten goodbye letters” later.

Further, the report said, “Her brother Philip, a UK solicitor, said Maureen had provided the clinic with ‘letters of complaint to medical authorities in Éire in respect of bogus medical conditions,’ which Pegasos allegedly used to support her application. She reportedly paid £13,000 for the procedure.”

Family members now are calling for a governmental investigation of Pegasos.

Bob Unruh

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is currently a news editor for the WND News Center, and also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially. Read more of Bob Unruh's articles here.