Swiss Parliament rejects assisted-suicide regulation

ZURICH - Reuters

Switzerland’s Parliament voted against a bid to toughen controls on assisted suicide on Sept. 26, rejecting concerns about foreigners traveling to the country to die.

Members of the lower house of parliament voted against changing the code, arguing self-regulation by right-to-die organizations such as Exit and Dignitas worked and the liberal rules protected individual freedoms.

“One should regulate oversight of assisted suicide organizations. These organizations work as companies, run advertisements for members and want payment for their work,” said Christian Democrat Ida Glanzmann-Hunkeler, one of the few MPs who wanted a change.

Assisted suicide has been allowed in Switzerland since 1941 if performed by a non-physician who has no vested interest in the death. Euthanasia, or “mercy killing,” is legal only in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and the U.S. state of Oregon.

Ethical questions

“The ability to determine what happens with our lives in our final months is considered very important in Switzerland,” said Susanne Leutenegger-Oberholzer, a member of the Social Democrats (SPD), the second-biggest party in the lower house.

“Ethical questions are of primary importance here. Lawmakers can’t do much good here,” she said.
Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said reform was not necessary as the number of foreigners traveling to Switzerland to die had declined in recent years, from 199 in 2006 to 97 in 2010. Most come from Germany, France and Britain.

“It’s about the question of dignity at the end of one’s life. In the end each person can only decide on this dignity for him or herself. It’s about questions of self-determination,” she said.

The vote in Parliament mirrors a referendum in Zurich last year when voters rejected overwhelmingly proposed bans on assisted suicide and “suicide tourism.”