American sisters who ended their lives at a Swiss assisted suicide clinic after becoming “tired of life”, were advised by the campaigning group Exit International.

The group, which has an active branch in Ireland, advocate for a legislative model whereby all mentally competent adults over 18 could choose to die regardless of their physical or mental well being. It also provides information and guidance to those seeking to end their lives.

Sisters, Dr Lila Ammouri, a palliative care doctor aged 54, and Susan Frazier, 49, first contacted Exit International in September 2020: “The explanation was that they weren’t 100 per cent well. They were complaining about what you might call frustrations. Collapsed discs, chronic back pain, chronic insomnia, vertigo,” Director, Dr Philip Nitshke told The Independent.

“They had both decided they were tired of life and it was time to go”.

They became members of Exit in October 2020, which provided them with DIY handbooks on how to take their lives.

But Dr Nitschke said the sisters were worried that the procedure may not succeed, and he placed them in touch with Pegasos, a Basel-based assisted suicide organisation which does not require proof of terminal illness.

Pegasos does require that a patient must come in with a third party in order to identify them after death, but the rule can be waived if the patient is also a member of Exit International.