A euthanasia clinic sent a woman’s daughter a WhatsApp message to inform her that her mother had died. 

Megan Slough Royal’s mother, Maureen, died one month ago in an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland - despite the fact that she was not terminally ill. 

On Lunchtime Live, Ms Slough Royal said that she had no idea that her mother had been contemplating assisted suicide. 

“I got a text message while I was just around the house with my baby,” she said. 

“I was talking to Ma as normal the night before; as far as I knew, she was at home on Tuesday chilling. 

“Then on Wednesday night, a really close friend of hers messaged me and asked would I talk.” 

Ms Slough Royal replied that she was busy with her baby and asked her friend if she could send her a text message instead. 

“They said to me, ‘I’m sorry but your Mam’s going to Switzerland for assisted suicide,’” she recalled.  

“I won’t lie, I just thought to myself, ‘What a load of b. You can’t just go and do that, she’s a healthy woman.’” 

'A very happy, young, vibrant woman'

Aside from a film she watched several years ago, it was the first time Ms Slough Royal had ever considered the concept of assisted suicide. 

While her mother had had problems “like us all”, she was physically well. 

Ms Slough Royal added that the death of her two sisters in the past three years had taken her mother to a “very dark place”.  

“We all have problems but 90% of the time, my Mam was a very happy, young, vibrant woman,” she explained. 

“She did nearly 39 years in Revenue as an Executive Officer, she loved her little holidays and all. 

“She was just a basic happy Mammy.” 

Ms Slough Royal continued that she was “so excited” about her new grandchild. 

“Her and my son, they were best mates,” she said. 

“So, I never thought she could have left me and him when she knew the baby was coming and she spent her final two weeks up with me and the baby.” 

Ms Slough Royal said it will “never make sense” to her that no one from the clinic tried to contact her before her mother’s assisted suicide. 

The clinic in Basel, Switzerland told Newstalk that they had verified a handwritten letter from Ms Slough Royal through email. 

They maintained that the letter said that Ms Slough Royal accepted her mother’s wishes - even if she was not happy with them. 

“There was never a phone call, I got a text message - so, they had my number,” Ms Slough Royal said. 

“After I got my text message, I got blocked.” 

'She needed help'

Ms Slough Royal described her mother’s death as  “glorified suicide”. 

“My mother wasn’t terminally ill, she needed help,” she said. 

Ms Slough Royal added that she thought it was a “joke” when she received the message and that waiting for her partner to come home afterwards was the “longest 20 minutes” of her life.  

Her mother’s ashes were then sent back to Ireland and the family “tracked her like she was an Amazon delivery”. 

Ms Slough Royal is currently organising the funeral; her mother had paid for her funeral and wake beforehand.

Main image: Megan Slough Royal and her family. Image: Supplied.