Assisted suicide

Voters in the Swiss canton of Zurich have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have made it more difficult for foreigners to get help in ending their lives, a practice that has been dubbed "suicide tourism."

Early projections showed that around 80 percent voted against the proposal, which would have imposed a one-year residency requirement for someone seeking assisted suicide services. In a separate referendum also held on Sunday, voters also rejected an outright ban on assisted suicide.

Around 200 people commit assisted suicide each year in Zurich. Foreigners in particular have taken advantage of Switzerland's relatively liberal laws on suicide to end their lives in recent years.

Of the 1,138 people that the organization Dignitas has helped take their lives over the past 13 years, more than 1,000 were foreigners, with 592 coming from Germany.

Passive assistance only

Assisted suicide has been legal in Switzerland since 1941, but only under certain conditions. A person may be given passive assistance such as receiving a lethal dose of a drug, but active help, such as helping the individual actually take the drug is not permitted.

The person providing the assistance may not have any vested interest in the death.

The law became the subject of heated debate after a rise in the number of foreigners travelling to Switzerland to end their lives and a study that showed that many of them didn't have terminal illnesses.

According to its website, Dignitas offers accompanied suicide "in case of an illness which will lead inevitably to death, unendurable pain or an unendurable disability."

Another group, Exit also offers assisted suicide, but only for Swiss nationals.

Author: Chuck Penfold (EPD, Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Kyle James