Jack initiated the conversation by referencing various news stories that have circulated over the years regarding his parents’ plans to travel to Switzerland for assisted suicide in the event that one of them is afflicted by a debilitating illness, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Notably, Sharon Osbourne had first revealed these plans to the public in 2007, expressing the couple’s unequivocal support for euthanasia.
During her interview with the Daily Mirror at the time, Sharon unapologetically stated, “[We] have drawn up plans to go to the assisted suicide flat in Switzerland if we ever have an illness that affects our brains. If Ozzy or I ever got Alzheimer’s, that’s it – we’d be off.”
On the podcast episode, Jack inquired whether this plan remained unchanged, prompting his mother to respond, “Do you think that we’re gonna suffer?” Jack contended that “we already [are] all suffering,” but Sharon vehemently disagreed, saying, “Yes, we all are, but I don’t want it to actually hurt, as well. Mental suffering is enough pain without physical. So if you’ve got mental and physical, see ya.”
Sharon’s daughter, Kelly, also chimed in, inquiring whether her parents would reconsider their pact if there were a possibility of surviving their ailment. Sharon responded with a hypothetical scenario, “What if you survived and you can’t wipe your own a*s, you’re p*ssing everywhere, sh**ting, can’t eat.”
The genesis of their assisted suicide pact stems from the painful experience of Sharon’s father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. She witnessed his distress from the time he reentered her life in 2002 until his passing in July 2007. Sharon explained in 2007 that she couldn’t bear to endure what her father went through, nor could she subject her children to such a traumatic ordeal. In contrast to conditions like cancer, where patients can communicate their feelings and the reasons behind their physical discomfort, diseases like Alzheimer’s entail a unique kind of suffering.
Moreover, Sharon highlighted the hereditary nature of diseases such as dementia, asserting that at the first sign of such an affliction, she would prefer to be “put out of [her misery].”
Notably, in 2014, during an interview with the Daily Mirror, Ozzy Osbourne further elaborated on their assisted suicide pact, revealing that it had expanded to encompass any “life-threatening condition,” in addition to dementia. This reaffirms the couple’s unwavering commitment to their controversial decision, sparking both conversations on the ethical implications of euthanasia and the enduring bond between Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne.
