A woman who had booked an appointment to be killed by lethal medication in a Swiss suicide clinic this summer has postponed her date with death after discovering that her son and his partner are expecting a child.

Despite not suffering from a severe or terminal illness, 76-year-old Jacqueline Jencquel from France has been campaigning to have her life terminated for over a decade as she believes that old age is an incurable disease which should qualify her for assisted suicide.

Ms Jencquel had intended to travel to Switzerland this summer to self-administer lethal medication in a suicide clinic. However, the 76-year-old has now postponed this date to the winter of 2020 after receiving the news that her grandchild is due to be delivered this November.

After hearing news of the arrival of her grandchild, Ms Jencquel said that having herself killed “didn’t seem like a nice thing to do".

“Arrival of grandchild could renew hope and joy in Jacqueline”

Switzerland is one of four nations which permits foreigners to travel to the country to be killed. In Switzerland, assisted suicide is legal and can be carried out on patients who are suffering "intolerably" from a severe illness, but who needn’t be terminally ill.

Michael Robinson, SPUC Director of Communications, said: “Assisted suicide and euthanasia devalue human life and sends a very dangerous message that some lives are not worth living. It is vital that we promote a society where every stage of life is valued, and where no person feels impelled to choose to kill themselves as a solution to their problems.

“It is very saddening to realize that if Jacqueline continues with her plan to terminate herself this winter, she is limiting herself to a matter of weeks to love and bond with her grandchild. We can only hope that the arrival of her grandchild will bring about a renewed sense of hope and joy into Jacqueline’s life, and deter her from her tragic suicide plan.”