Foreign nationals, minors, people without terminal illnesses: in Switzerland, assisted suicide is available to many. There are minimal legal hurdles and politicians regularly reject attempts to regulate it.
What do you think about Switzerland’s approach to assisted suicide and death tourism? How is assisted suicide viewed in your country? Join the discussion here!
When there is a war, they force you to go and kill and also to die. And no one opposes it... Governments have power over your life... but you do not have power over your own life...
Cuando hay un conflicto bélico, te obligan a ir a matar y también a morir. Y nadie se opone a ello… Los gobiernos disponen de tu vida… pero tú no puedes disponer de tu vida…
I like knowing that, if I were to decide to end my life for serious reasons, I could do so in my country. It would also be nice if there were official data and some indication of the costs. It would also be interesting to know whether leaving a simple written note to family members is sufficient and easy to carry out the wishes of those who make the choice.
Mi piace sapere che, se dovessi decidere di cessare la mia vita per motivi gravi, nel mio Paese lo potrei fare.__Sarebbe pure bello se ci fossero dei dati ufficiali ed un accenno ai costi. Sarebbe pure interessante sapere se lasciando u. Semplice scritto ai famigliari, vi è validità e facilità per eseguire le volontà di chi fa la scelta.
How many readers were directly asked by relatives or friends to help them get assisted suicide in Switzerland? I recently lost a close family member. He was retired, but still physically fit and enjoyed marine sailing. After a small tumor was successfully removed, he received inadequate follow-up care, with delays in almost every appointment and treatment. This caused his health to decline and new ailments appeared due to poor nutrition. He was eventually told he likely wouldn't return to normal life, and he lost his will to live. He wrote to me asking about assisted suicide. I could only tell him about the requirements to personally travel to Switzerland and waiting time. That was our last conversation. He died soon after. However, he didn't need assisted suicide and didn't even need to die. He needed good, timely medical care, which he didn't receive in his home country.
First of all, I disagree with calling a delicate and highly personal choice 'death tourism'. The individual choice to end one's own life is always supported by assistance (both abroad and in Switzerland). Switzerland allows this, but not in a liberal, free or undefined manner. It allows people to turn to well-defined, well-established and well-organised associations that are also attentive to the legal aspects of the issue. Assisted suicide is an important element of respect for human dignity, and even in countries where apparent ethical reasons, which I refer to as 'superficial do-goodism', something is changing.
Premetto che dissento sul chiamare una scelta delicata e personalissima "turismo della morte). La scelta individuale di porre fine alla propria esistenza è sempre supportata da un accompagnamento (si9a all'estero che in svizzera). La Svizzera permette, ma non in modo liberale, libero o senza criteri ben definiti, di affidarsi a associazioni ben definite, ber radicate e ben organizzate, attente anche dal punto vista giuridico al tema. Il suicidio assistito è un importante elemento del rispetto della dignità umana e anche i paesi in cui apparenti motivi etici che io commento con "buonismo di facciata" qualcosa si muove.
Thank you for your message. I agree with you that the term is problematic. However, it has become established in the debate in Switzerland and dominates the discussion in the media, which we cannot escape to a certain extent.____I do not understand why Switzerland's approach to assisted suicide is not seen as liberal. In Switzerland, the only legal criterion that makes euthanasia a criminal offence is a selfish motive on the part of the person assisting.____This means that euthanasia is in principle permissible for people without a terminal illness and also for minors. For example, the Federal Supreme Court has protected euthanasia for a healthy woman who wanted to follow her husband in death. Euthanasia must also be made available in nursing homes, as corresponding disputes in the cantons show. There is no supervision of euthanasia in Switzerland. Although unusual deaths must be investigated ex officio, there is no expert committee to assess them, unlike in Belgium, for example. Whether and to what extent this poses an ethical problem is debatable. Compared to other countries that allow assisted suicide, however, the Swiss approach is liberal.
Vielen Dank für Ihre Nachricht. Der Begriff ist problematisch, ich gehe diesbezüglich mit Ihnen einig. Er hat sich für die Debatte in der Schweiz aber etabliert und bestimmt die mediale Diskussion, dem können wir uns ein Stück weit nicht entziehen.____Warum sich den Schweizer Umgang mit Sterbehilfe nicht als liberal erleben, erschliesst sich mir hingegen nicht. In der Schweiz ist das einzige rechtliche Kriterium, das Sterbehilfe unter Strafe stellt, ein selbstsüchtiges Motiv der assistierenden Person.____Das heisst, Sterbehilfe ist prinzipiell für Personen ohne finale Erkrankung und auch für Minderjährige zulässig. Das Bundesgericht hat beispielsweise die Sterbehilfe für eine gesunde Frau geschützt, die ihrem Mann in den Tod folgen wollte. Auch muss Sterbehilfe in Pflegeheimen zugänglich gemacht werden, wie entsprechende Dispute in Kantonen zeigen.____Eine Aufsicht über die Sterbehilfe gibt es in der Schweiz nicht. Zwar müssen die aussergewöhnlichen Todesfälle von Amtes wegen untersucht werden, es gibt für die Beurteilung aber - anders als etwa in Belgien - kein Fachgremium.____Ob und inwieweit das ethisch ein Problem darstellt, ist diskutabel. Im Vergleich mit anderen Ländern, die Sterbehilfe erlauben, ist der Schweizer Ansatz aber doch liberal.
I am totally in favor of it. In fact I was a member of Dignitas about 17 years ago. It gave me so much comfort to know I would not have to suffer if my condition became terminal. __It motivated me to lobby the NJ lawmakers to enact a law " death with dignity". I believe 7 states in the US allow it. However in my opinion it needs to be broadened to cover mental decline like after a stroke or alzheimers. The organization Compassion and choices is a lobbying group that tries to get the law passed.
Thank you very much for your contribution.
Vielen Dank für Ihren Beitrag.
Assisted suicide is a "violent" way of ending your own life. The impact on families and close ones can be great. However, the looming alternative, non-assisted suicide, is infinitely worse, and obviously not a criminal offence. So rationally a assisted suicide must be legal, if it can reduce the impact on society. __Most arguments against legal assistes suicide in Switzerland are of religious nature. As there is freedom of religion in Switzerland, religious arguments should not be considered when legislating. __One of the most appealing argument, that the "easy" access to assisted suicide puts pressure on individuals, as they might feel beeing a burden to society. Regulations can be interpreted this way and to some extend they can shape society. As the swiss regulations surrounding assisted suicide are historically grown due to absence of regulation rather than avtive frameworking, I do believe that there is a very low risk of this beeing the case. __Then there is contoversy surrounding assisted suicides of non residents. "Going to Switzerland" is, admittetly, a somewhat macabre phrase used in some parts of the world. Unlike our flag, not a big plus. If we regulate assisted suicide rationally, there is no argument to not letting non residents access it. Once again, worse than assisted suicide "tourism" is suicide ("tourism").
Assisted suicide gives governments a macabre way to save money on medical care – using neglect and delays in medical and psychological help to push people towards assisted suicide, and selling it as ‘private decision', 'free choice’ and ‘modern’. Ill people see a list of medical treatments with unaffordable prices, but euthanasia is cheap or free. Many people e.g. in Canada feel that they are simply pushed toward assisted suicide, however spokespeople will deny it.
I am not living in Canada, nor do I know the Canadian health care system. Societal pressure to not being a "burden" are certainly not a real, measurable factor in Switzerland today. Economic factors (at least in the Swiss public health system) belong clearly into the realm of conspiracy theories, not especially intelligent ones. There is absolutely no "economic" incentive on the decisional level for treatment, the economics are probably more biased against them.
Have you ever been in contact with people who are ill (cancer, early stages of Alzheimer's, degenerative diseases)? Talk to those who see assisted suicide as the only way to end their lives with dignity (it must remain their own decision and not delegated to the state). Everyone, myself included, will one day end their life, hopefully with dignity and still free. To claim that governments (which ones?) are willing and interested in reducing healthcare costs (there are many other ways to do this) seems misplaced to me. In Switzerland, the government is not and never will be so 'macabre'.
Lei ha mai avuto contatti con persone malate (cancro, alzheimer ai primi stadi, malattie degenerative? Parli con chi vede nel suicidio assistito l'unica via per terminare dignitosamente la propria (deve rimanere propria e non delegata allo stato), vita.__Tutti, io compreso terminiamo, un giorno, possibilmente in modo dignitoso e ancora libero il nostro percorso di vita. Affermare che i governi (? quali ?) siano disposti e interessati a diminuire i costi sanitari (ci sono moltissimi altri modi) mi sembra fuori luogo. In Svizzera, il governo non è e non sarà mai cosi "macabro".
There is no evidence whatsoever that assisted suicide in Switzerland is a secret backdoor plot by the government to "save" money on healthcare. Assisted suicide has been legal in the CH since 1942 and healthcare spending has greatly increased since then. Switzerland's healthcare and palliative care system ranks as one of the greatest in the world in quality of care and accessibility. Canada has no relevance to Switzerland.
Thank you very much for your contribution.
Vielen Dank für Ihren Beitrag.
Thank you for your contribution. We have taken note of this discussion in Canada. However, it must be said that many services are available in the Swiss healthcare system until old age, and treatment times are short in comparison to other countries when it comes to basic insurance. Politically, there has been no speculation about a favourable exit so far. What does exist is subtle cost pressure on those in need of care if they have assets and have to bear a significant portion of the costs for the nursing home themselves. In this case, those affected see their hard-earned assets dwindle. There are also systematic shortcomings in palliative care, the elimination of which would enable a more neutral decision on assisted suicide.
Vielen Dank für Ihren Beitrag. Von dieser Diskussion in Kanada haben wir Kenntnis genommen. Man muss aber sagen, dass im Schweizer Gesundheitssystem viele Leistungen bis ins hohe Alter zugänglich sind, auch sind die Behandlungszeiten im internationalen Vergleich in der Grundversicherung kurz. Politisch wird bislang nicht auf einen günstigen Exit spekuliert. Was existiert, ist ein subtiler Kostendruck auf Pflegebedürftige, wenn diese über Vermögen verfügen und einen erheblichen Teil der Kosten für das Pflegeheim selbst tragen müssen. In diesem Fall sehen Betroffene ihr teils hart erarbeitetes Vermögen schwinden. Auch in der Palliativpflege gibt es noch systematische Mängel, deren Behebung eine neutralere Entscheidung über assistierte Suizide ermöglichen würde.
Thank you very much for your contribution. Looking at the history of euthanasia in Switzerland, it is indeed apparent that Swiss politicians are doing their utmost to stay out of the decision-making process. This emphasis on personal responsibility is consistent with the Swiss value system.
Vielen Dank für Ihren Beitrag. Wenn man sich die Geschichte der Sterbehilfe in der Schweiz anschaut, ist tatsächlich zu beoba hten, dass die politische Schweiz sich bestmöglich aus der Entscheidung heraushält. Diese Betonung der Eigenverantwortung ist kongruent mit dem Schweizer Wertesystem.
You are right only when you narrowly consider only Switzerland , middle to high income people, currently, and only focus whether the neglect of patients is wilful or not wilful. However, this is not the case in most of the world, including countries from where people consider traveling to Switzerland to end their lives. And yes, I witnessed several family members and friends decline and die.
Swiss recipients of assisted dying are more likely to be socioeconomically privileged compared to the average populace: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/4/e020992____Your arguments are pure ideology and not empirically backed.
Rachadrayane39__2026-02-08 20:56__Life is diverse, with many different types of people, each of whom strives to achieve their goals in one way or another. The problem does not lie solely with the individual if they make a mistake, but society also bears responsibility. Individuals alone do not build societies, but with sound ideas and proper guidance, they can change the lifestyle of an entire society____Ahmed Rahmani
A dark aspect of end-of-life discussions is not focusing on access to palliative and psychological care, which should be the first choice before considering assisted suicide. Heavily ill people commonly lack access to state-of-the-art therapies, palliative care, and pain management. They also commonly suffer from untreated depression, feel like a burden to others, and lack the support of loved ones. In these situations, a devilish idea comes: "Perhaps you would like to shorten your life?" However, this is not freedom and not a moral progress. If a vulnerable person receives inadequate support, they will often consider taking their own life.
Thank you for your contribution. Personally, I would attribute the existing gaps in palliative care to systemic inertia rather than a macabre political plan. At least there is no evidence to support the latter.
Vielen Dank für Ihren Beitrag. Persönlich würde ich in die bestehenden Lücken in der Palliativpflege aber eher systemischen Trägheit zuschreiben als einem makaberen politischen Plan. Zumindest fehlen dafür die Belege.
While I agree with you, this has surprisingly little practical effect. People suffer needlessly in both cases. However, we both agree on the chain of events: people consider assisted dying mostly because they did not receive proper end of life care. To help people, the important thing is to break this chain by providing palliative care, rather than focusing on whether it is purposeful or incidental. The key message is that gaps in palliative care are very common, while medical cases objective causing untreatable, severe pain or similar suffering are very rare. You can ask a doctor or consult medical literature about your chances of suffering either.
"However, we both agree on the chain of events: people consider assisted dying mostly because they did not receive proper end of life care"____What evidence do you have that indicates most requests for AS is due to 'inadequate' palliative care or non access to PC? Studies from various where the practice is legal show the great majority of assisted dying recipients to be already receiving PC.____78% in Canada receiving PC : https://canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/health-system-services/annual-report-medical-assistance-dying-2022.html
We agree that there are still gaps in palliative care in Switzerland and that this is weighing on the discussion. However, I would not claim that these gaps are the main reason for the decision to allow assisted suicide. Individual cases vary greatly, and support structures are still good compared to other countries – many countries, in fact. There may also be a mental aspect to consider here: Switzerland is a country that idealises individuality and self-determination. I personally know of cases where people in difficult circumstances sought an act of self-determination at the end of their lives and found it in assisted suicide.
Wir stimmen darin überein, dass es noch Lücken in der palliativen Versorgung gibt in der Schweiz und dass das die Diskussion belastet. Dass diese Lücken der Hauptgrund für den Entscheid zum assistierten Suizid sind, würde ich hingegen nicht behaupten. Die Einzelfälle sind sehr verschieden, die Support-Strukturen gemessen am Ausland - respektive an vielen Ländern - immer noch gut. Auch einen Mentalitätsaspekt mag man hier vermuten: Die Schweiz ist ein Land, das Individualität und Selbstbestimmung idealisiert, ich kenne persönlich Fälle von Menschen, die unter schwierigen Bedingungen am Ende Ihres Lebens einen Akt der Selbstbestimmung gesucht und im assistierten Suizid gefunden haben.
the sarco pod is bought from down under? spooky.
It is about freedom. In everyday medical practice, there are people who wish to die. These people are suffering, have no hope of recovery and are simply waiting for death. Only the individual can judge their suffering. We must not hinder the end-of-life care of foreigners, but also make this option available abroad. Death tourism is a misnomer; it is never about tourism, but about finding a long-awaited solution after a long journey from countries where religions make a humane end to life impossible.
Es geht um die Freiheit. Es gibt im medizinischen Alltag Menschen die sterben möchten. Diese Menschen leiden, haben keine Hoffnung mehr auf Besserung und warten nur auf den Tod. Das Leiden kann nur der Mensch alleine beurteilen. Wir müsssen nicht die Sterbebegleitung von Ausländer behindern sondern diese Möglichkeit auch im Ausland ermöglichen. Sterbeturismus ist ein falsches Wort, es geht nie um Turismus sondern um eine Lang ersehnte Lösung nach einer Langen Reise zu finden, aus Länder in denen Religionen ein humanes Ende des Lebens verunmöglichen.
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