The Burrill Report


Countries such as India, Thailand, and Costa Rica have made efforts to position themselves as a destination for medical tourists in search of low cost alternatives to a variety of procedures, but Switzerland has found an unusual niche for itself—the place foreigners go to die. Now there’s an effort under way to change that by making the country’s assisted suicide laws more restrictive.

Former Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is seeking new requirements that call for oversight of assisted suicides by doctors who are not affiliated with one of the nation’s right-to-die organizations, Bloomberg reports [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-18/suicide-tourists-make-swiss-minister-uneasy-as-terminally-ill-seek-escape.html]. Separately, Zurich voters will decide in May whether to outlaw assisted suicide in the canton.

Assisted suicide is legal in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Montana, as well as in Belgium and the Netherlands. However, Switzerland is unique in permitting doctors to assist foreigners. More than 25 percent of the 380 assisted suicides in Switzerland during 2009 involved foreigners, Bloomberg reported.

Opponents of assisted suicide are not expected to succeed. Nearly three quarters of the people in Switzerland support assisted suicide, even in cases where a person is not terminally ill. The four largest political parties in Switzerland also oppose the proposed changes.

Perhaps as cost pressures from end-of-life care builds, other governments will take a more enlightened view of the rights of individuals to determine their own exit strategies and access professional assistance. Until then, Switzerland appears to be a destination of choice for shuffling off the mortal coil.


January 19, 2011
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-dying_to_go_to_switzerland.html