Homeless Dignitas Upsets the Natives

Homeless Dignitas Upsets the Natives, Nov. 9 2007

Maur, Switzerland - Switzerland was thrown into a new public uproar Wednesday in the wake of the latest incident of a euthanasia group helping two Germans to commit suicide, with politicians demanding strong action against "death tourism."Earlier, prosecutor Juerg Vollenweider confirmed the latest incident in which the euthanasia group Dignitas provided support for the German men, aged 50 and 65 years, in their suicides.

The private euthanasia group provided the lethal drugs to the two men, who then took them of their own volition.

Under Swiss law, Dignitas' action is not illegal since the group did not itself administer the lethal drugs.

Dignitas is careful to keep a video recording of each case to document the actions taken, with the video material actually helping Swiss prosecutors in their routine post-mortem investigations.

The two men, from the southern German states of Bavaria and Baden- Wuerrtemberg across the Swiss border, took their lives in a car in a parking lot in the town of Maur, east of the city of Zurich.

According to the daily Blick on Wednesday, one of the men had driven to the parking lot, located in a wooded area, in a car specially equipped for the handicapped. The other man arrived in a rented van.

Dignitas has come under increasing criticism in Switzerland for its activities.

Recently local communities in the city of Zurich refused to permit the group from carrying out any assistance in suicides in residential or industrial areas. Dignitas then switched to hotels.

After that provoked strong protests, the group rented a private apartment. But the landlord cancelled the rental contract on grounds that Dignitas, by taking money for its services, was engaged in commercial activity which is banned under the rental laws.

The group, which is also lobbying for permission to assist in suicides in Germany, provides help to those who provide proof that they are incurably ill. Most of those it assists come from outside Switzerland, a large portion of these from neighbouring Germany.

While thre are no official figures as to how many such suicides have been assisted, Dignitas itself put the number at nearly 200 in the year 2006, with 120 people coming from Germany.

Dignitas is trying to spread its activities to Germany itself, setting up a branch in the northern city of Hanover in 2005 in a move which triggered strong nationwide protests.

Last August, the Swiss government blocked initiatives launched by parliament towards stronger regulations against assisted suicide.

But after the newest double-suicide case, Swiss politicians Wednesday vowed that there could be new initiatives coming from parliament.

Earth Times, UK