The founder of the assisted suicide organization Dignitas, Ludwig A. Minelli, has died: he committed suicide on November 29, shortly before his 93rd birthday.
The organization announced his death on Sunday. Ludwig A. Minelli founded Dignitas in 1998. This jurist has been committed for decades to his association, which defends a dignified death. As part of this activity, he has faced justice on several occasions.
My mum was a big believer in euthanasia, she used to say she wasn’t afraid of death but she was afraid of getting old. Sadly she only made it to 61, a few months after retiring she had a massive heart attack 
I think my mother would have approved the option to choose herself. She always told me she didn’t want to linger if she became seriously incapacitated.
I myself can see no point in “hanging on” if I’m seriously ill or will become so from something like Alzheimer’s. I’d rather take the decision to go while I’m still able to.
Article in English
Links are to English pages despite appearance.
This is a similar organisation but with membership limited to Swiss Residents and non-resident Swiss citizens. You don’t hear much about them in the press but they are quite active on various levels.
My wife and I have been members for about a decade. Not because we want to go this way but to give us the option should we believe it the right thing to do.
It is a pity that Swiss law does not allow euthanasia but only assisted suicide. We must be mentally fit and take our own lives.
Yes, I know of Exit too. As you said restricted to Swiss residents and Swiss citizens. Probably why you don’t hear so much about them as it’s people travelling to Switzerland to take their own lives that make the headlines in foreign papers.
If we were staying in Switzerland then I’d certainly consider joining it, but we’re not.
There are a lot of potential problems with it.
I wouldn’t put it past some relatives to slip an unscrupulous doctor (let’s not pretend they are all saints) some cash so he could declare an elderly parent absolutely senile so they could put her down and get their inheritance.
Even with voluntary assisted suicide there was an old lady who travelled to Switzerland to die as she had decided life wasn’t worth living but she changed her mind at the last minute and it was then that her family and friends realised how awful they had been towards her, became more caring and she was able to start enjoying life again.
The problem with all this euthanasia/assisted dying stuff that people on this forum seem to favour is that they only seem to be able to apply it to their own circumstances and not all the possible scenarios.
Isn’t it, by its very nature, something you can only apply to your own very personal circumstances? I understand most people’s position “on this forum” to be simply in favour of others’ rights to choose for themselves. It’s tightly regulated here, as it should be, and imagined scenarios of “relatives slipping unscrupulous doctors some cash” appear to remain as imagined.
What I would like is the opportunity to write a living will that says in stated circumstances my wish to die is to be respected regardless if I am no longer corpus mentus. Obviously much finer legalise would be necessary. My decision.
And if someone has departed this planet, but not yet their body what is the downside to pulling the plug.
Or the example of an older person living with chronic health problems. They might feel pressured to choose death rather than becoming a burden on their families. This creates a danger that the choice is shaped less by genuine personal desire and more by a sense of obligation, guilt or social expectation.
When policy permits euthanasia, these subtle pressures can turn into quiet coercion, especially for people who already feel isolated, undervalued or financially dependent.
Both options already exist here. The term used is Passive euthanasia.
And laws should be changed just because of what You want.
People despise the House Of Lords in the UK but it has, in the past, blocked, or requested revision of laws which people have wanted passed for the wrong reasons.
AFAIK, there’s no regulation.
The method is setup in a manner that people supporting suicide are not prosecuted according to Art 114 homicide at the request of the victim and Art 115 inciting and assisting suicide from Swiss Criminal Code. Organisations like Dignitas document the whole process to prove they did not break the law, but police always investigates the death.
Remember the sarco capsule story? Initially, there were suspicions of i) intentional homicide, and ii) incitement and assistance to suicide. About a year ago, the investigation for intentional homicide was ended, but incitement charges were being investigated until the guy killed himself.
OK, so the fact that this case hit the headlines kind of highlights that the likes of Exit and Dignitas have stringent safeguards, even if not written into law, except when the law has been broken, obviously.
Googling around, you certainly can’t just rock up there and expect a lethal dose. You have to be a member, and have 3 years membership (or pay a premium for a shorter time). They assess you for sound mind and that it’s your own decision, presumably to weed out any cases of relatives giving you the push.
I certainly think it’s good to have this option in Switzerland. I would certainly not want to be stuck in agony with no alternative but to hope that the pain meds can keep it down to a dull roar before death. It’s also perfectly fine if you want to stick it out and bear the pain and indignity till the end - just not for me, thanks.
Exactly, those wait times are part of the evidence that neither a family member nor a worker of the organization talked people into suicide.
Sorry to be annoying about this, but there’s is no law telling that if a list of requirements is met, a death by assisted suicide is legal and no criminal investigation is needed. What do exists is a tacit agreement among cantonal prosecutors and NGOs where people will be investigated (but not roasted) for assisting in a suicide. Anyway, if something goes wrong the police investigation will go the whole way.
Thinking about liability, working for one of these organisations is a nightmare. The outcome of some mistakes in the paperwork or bad planning is being investigated for voluntary homicide. I prefer to work on projects where the consequences are costs overruns or delayed results 
Yes, exactly. I saw that as I was googling - the law is applied as needed.
I think there was cases in the UK where a relative fell foul of UK law on their return from Switzerland just by accompanying the relative who died. As far as I can recall, they (some?) were charged but none of them were found guilty.
One thing that bother me is the burden of assisted suicide for cantonal prosecutors and the police. 1’756 deaths to be investigated in 2023. So, there’s room for optimization.
From the perspective of the one looking for the exit, it’s literally Après moi, le déluge!
Isn’t that just an inquest for an unnatural death, though? Doesn’t need to be any suspicion of wrong-doing, just the norm.
Don’t know the extent of the investigation. All I know is the method published by Dignitas, the call the police to notify an assisted suicide has been carried out, and police comes to take a look and rule out foul play.
Even if not much is done, that means at least 1’756 calls to the police, and 17’56 visits by the police.
Once they are convinced that death has occurred, they offer their condolences to the people who accompanied the deceased person, then use the emergency telephone number to notify the police of the AS (assisted suicide) that occurred, so that an official investigation can take place.
EDIT: an assisted suicide tax (or fee) for non-residents could be considered. The costs imposed on local authorities are not trivial.