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Swiss mercy killing group operates
in parked cars
14 November, 2007
Dignitas, the Swiss “euthanasia
charity” that was already been in the
midst of a huge controversy for having
helped over 600 people commit suicide,
is facing fresh flak.
This time the group that facilitates
“assisted suicide” is under fire for
introducing a service called “death on
wheels” in which people are helped to
die in car parks, after the charity
was thrown out of its premises by
local residents.
Recently, the “euthanasia charity” had
put two Germans in a parked van after
administering lethal drugs. The two
Germans, both clients, aged 50 and 65,
had been suffering from terminal
illness. They were put to “mercy
death” in the first week of November
2007.
The mode of operation is: once in the
van/car, the client – the one with the
death wish – is given a concoction of
chemicals which they drink
voluntarily. This means that there is
no possibility of prosecution under
Swiss law.
Assisted suicide – where the person
desiring death performs the final act
himself – is legal in Switzerland.
However, “active euthanasia,” or
deliberate killing to end suffering,
is not legal.
Dignitas had been forced out of its
flat in Zurich, its headquarters for
eight years, by neighbors who
complained about corpses blocking the
flat’s lift. It then tried to
re-establish its “service” elsewhere
in the city, but the local authorities
refused to grant permission for the
so-called assisted suicides.
Thereafter, Dignitas has been using
hotel rooms – which also triggered
protests from the local hoteliers
association.
Swiss media reports say that
politicians admit they are powerless
to stop this new form of “suicide
tourism.” Most clients of Dignitas
come from overseas.
Locals people of Maur, near Zurich,
had complained that they were being
traumatized by the sight of people
going up in the lift to the
third-floor flat of Dignitas, only to
pass by them hours later in body-bags.
Authorities in Zurich have called for
a federal law to curb what the
opponents of this kind of death
describe as “death tourism.” The Swiss
parliament is scheduled to debate the
subject in the coming months.
Swiss media quoted Ludwig Minelli,
founder of Dignitas, as saying that
the group had decided to use car parks
for “mercy killings” because of the
overwhelming demand for its services.
“People who want to die find
themselves in a situation where they
cannot wait until the standoff with
officials is sorted out,” Minelli
added.
Minelli also said that Dignitas
intended to continue offering “mobile
suicide services” until it found a
permanent base.
Though there are many groups in
Switzerland that offer “self-help
suicides,” only Dignitas accepts
non-Swiss residents. Since its
creation in 1998, 753 foreigners have
used the services of Dignitas to end
their lives – for a fee of about
£3,000 per death.
Dignitas’ deadly operation in car
parks has given rise to anger in
Germany, too, from where over half of
its clients came in 2006.
Exit, another Swiss group, offers
passive assistance for suicide, but
does not offer its services to
visitors from abroad.
In the United Kingdom, assisted
suicide is a crime that attracts a
maximum sentence of 14 years in
prison.
Data shows that an increasing number
of British citizens has been traveling
to Switzerland to die with the aid of
Dignitas. According to Dignity in
Dying, the British pressure group, at
least 800 people were registered with
Dignitas in 2006.
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