Assisted suicide and euthanasia in Switzerland: allowing a role for non-physicians

Abstract

Switzerland has an unusual position on assisted suicide: it is legally condoned and can be performed by non-physicians. Euthanasia is illegal, but there is a debate about decriminalisation that also discusses participation by non-physicians

Voluntary active euthanasia: Is there a place for it in modern day medicine?

“…For instance, in Switzerland, where assisted suicide and VAE have been tolerated (they are illegal, but not prosecutable if the assistant has no hidden agenda) since 1918, it accounts for 0.45% of deaths (only a little more than the 0.3% in the Netherlands). 10 The candidate has to activate the "death machine" or has to swallow the lethal drug; in other cases the incumbent first ingests the drug but the final blow is administered by a tier. The death is foreseen but not intended.…”

Voluntary Active Euthanasia: The Debate

“…It was not until the twentieth century that the legal and ethical aspects of euthanasia came to the public fore. In 1918, a comment by the Swiss federal government on Article 115 of the first penal code stated (quoted in Hurst & Mauron, 2003):…”

“…This is why the project incriminates them only if the author has been moved by selfish reasons (Hurst & Mauron 2003). The act is called "murder upon request of the victim", not euthanasia.…”

“…The promoters of the argument claim that no pain is beyond palliation. A survey in Switzerland showed that 73% of palliative care physicians opposed the legislation of euthanasia; however, 19% would practice euthanasia if it became legal (Hurst & Mauron, 2003). In the Netherlands, voluntary active euthanasia is "tolerated" since 1973 (it is not lawful but not a criminal offence) provided strict guidelines, called "due care criteria" (also referred to as careful practice, and standards of care) are adhered to: 1) the claimant must be sound of mind; 2) the request must be voluntary, independent, persistent and fully informed; 3) the pain endured must be intolerable and unresponsive to all pain relief methods; and 3) the physician must consult with another independent colleague (Battin, 2002;SleeboomFaulkner, 2006).…”

One Way Ticket-Route To Death: How Right Is To Promote As A Commercial Initiative

“…For this reason, the so-called countries, which advocate an application contrary to the approaches of the global organizations to which they belong, constitute a contradiction. Elaborated by author(s): Adams and Nys, 2003;Anonymous, 1988;Appel, 2004;BBC, 2015a;BBC, 2015b;BBC,2016;Belgian Ministry of Justice, 2002;Burleigh and Boyd, 1995;Care, 2016;Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, 2015;Emanuel, 1994;End of Life Law in Canada, 2016;Globalnews, 2016;Griffiths, Weyers and Adams, 2008;Health Law Institute, 2016;Huffingtonpost, 2016;Hurst and Mauron, 2003;Hurst and Mauron, 2016;Inceoğlu, 1998;Jans, 2005;Julezs, 2016;Kroneman, Boerma, Berg, Groenewegen, Jong, Ginneken, 2016;Legilux, 2009;Luxembourgpublic, 2016;Manav, 2016;Materstvedt, et al 2003; National Academy of Science and Engineering and Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities, 2015;Pereira, 2011;ProCon, 2017;Rob Jonquiere, private interview 05.12.2016;Sayid, 1983;Scherer and Simon, 1999;Smets, Bilsen, Cohen, Rurup and Deliens 2010;Stajano, 2015;Varadarajan, Freeman and Parmar, 2016;World, 2015. …”