Assisted suicide option remains in demand in Switzerland
Some 68 more people opted for assisted suicide to end their lives in Switzerland in 2020 than the previous year.
Keystone / Georgios Kefalas
Some 1,282 seriously ill people ended their lives using the services of Swiss assisted suicide organisation EXIT last year, which is 68 more people than in 2019.
There were no reported assisted suicides due to Covid-19, but the pandemic did force EXIT to reduce its activities between March 20 and May 20 last year, the organisation said on Monday.
EXIT Deutsche Schweiz, which covers the German and Italian-speaking parts of the country, saw a rise of 51 assisted suicides as it helped 913 people terminate their lives in 2020. More people living in French-speaking Switzerland also ended their lives last year, as 369 people used the services of EXIT Suisse Romande.
Around a third of people were suffering from cancer, while others had age-related illnesses, heart problems or were in chronic pain. The average age was 78.7 years, with more women (59%) opting to end their lives in this way.
Swiss law tolerates assisted suicide when patients commit the act themselves and helpers have no vested interest in their death. Assisted suicide has been legal in the country since the 1940s.
Membership numbers of both EXIT groups increased last year to more than 166,000, a trend of new memberships that has also been observed so far in 2021.
Assisted suicides represent around 1.5% of the 67,000 deaths recorded on average in Switzerland each year.
More
Debate
Hosted by:
Kaoru Uda
To what extent do you think assisted suicide should be a legally available option to those who want to end their lives?
Switzerland legalised assisted suicide in the 1940s. More than 1,000 seriously ill or disabled people end their lives with the help of suicide assistants in Switzerland each year.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Abbot of Saint-Maurice steps down following sex abuse report
This content was published on
Jean Scarcella has decided to step down as Abbot of Saint-Maurice in the Swiss canton of Valais, the abbey announced on Saturday.
Philipp Matthias Bregy named new president of Centre Party
This content was published on
Valais National Councillor Philipp Matthias Bregy is the new President of the Centre Party. The delegates elected him as the successor to Gerhard Pfister on Saturday in Bern without discussion.
Global call for active neutrality launched from Geneva
This content was published on
A number of players have launched a worldwide appeal for active neutrality in Geneva at a time when the major powers are taking a tougher line. The city is competing with Vienna to attract an international congress on this issue in 2026.
This content was published on
The M'Tongé gorilla has died at Basel Zoo at the age of 26. The dominant male had to be euthanised on Friday morning owing to a parasite infection.
This content was published on
Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has been invited to Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Swiss canton coordinates donations for landslide destroyed village
This content was published on
The Swiss canton of Valais to form committee to coordinate CHF 57.4 million donations for village destroyed by a landslide.
Body of Blatten landslide victim found and identified
This content was published on
The body of 64-year-old man, who has been missing since part of the Brich glacier collapsed on the Swiss village of Blatten has been found.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
The global fight for assisted suicide
This content was published on
Swiss right-to-die organisations are politically and legally active abroad in a drive to legalise assisted suicide worldwide.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.