Assisted Suicide in Switzerland

Nonphysician-assisted suicide in Switzerland.

In general, legal responses to end-of-life issues are not very different in Switzerland than in most European countries. For instance, active euthanasia (i.e. killing on request) is illegal, although it is treated as a lesser offense than murder or manslaughter. Article 114 of the Swiss Penal Code reads, “Every person who, for honorable reasons, especially mercy, kills another person on his or ...

Assisted suicide seekers turn to Switzerland.

Swiss law is becoming a major reference point for those seeking to legalize medically assisted suicide. Lord Joel Joffe, who on 20 February introduced a Patient Assisted Dying Bill in the UK parliament, cited the case of Reginald Crew, who had ended his life with medical assistance in Zurich in January. This and other much publicized cases, Joffe said, reflected ''the pressing need to allow ter...

Assisted suicide in Switzerland. When is it permitted?

Religion and assisted and non-assisted suicide in Switzerland: National Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND In the 19th century, eminent French sociologist Emile Durkheim found suicide rates to be higher in the Protestant compared with the Catholic cantons of Switzerland. We examined religious affiliation and suicide in modern Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal. METHODS The 2000 census records of 1,722,456 (46.0%) Catholics, 1,565,452 (41.8%) Protestants and 454,397 (12.2%) ind...

Assisted reproductive medicine in Switzerland.

Since the first introduction of hormonal contraception, family planning and procreation have become increasingly medicalised. The rapid spread of assisted reproductive technology (ART) is part of this natural development of modern society. However, in Switzerland it has caused severe controversy and its use has been framed by a restrictive legislation since 2001. Despite this, the yearly number...