by Jared Yee | Feb 25, 2012
The number of patients in Switzerland who killed themselves
with the help of assisted-suicide organisations rose significantly in 2011, new
figures show. Exit, which caters exclusively to Swiss residents, announced on
Monday that it had helped 416 patients to kill themselves last year. Of those
deaths, 305 occurred in the country's German-speaking region, up from 257 in 2010,
and 111 occurred in the French-speaking areas, up from 91 in the previous year.
The organisation also saw a boom in new memberships. It now has 75,000. In
2011, Dignitas, Switzerland's other major
assisted-suicide organisation, helped 144 people kill themselves - a 35%
increase as reported by the Sonntag Zeitung.
Dr Jérôme Sobel, president of Exit for the French-speaking
cantons, said the increase in assisted suicides directly correlates with the
increase in memberships.
"There are people who call us to get reassurance and who
will fix a date [to end their lives] if their situation further deteriorates.
So there are people for whom calling us acts as a reassurance, and there are
people whom we have been to see but who then in fact died a natural death."
Only Dignitas helps foreigners. Reports of "suicide
tourism" have sparked fiery debate both domestically and internationally,
increasing pressure on the Swiss government to tighten assisted-suicide laws.
Last June it ruled out introducing new legislation to regulate the practice,
but the government has since proposed a set of measures to bolster suicide
prevention and improve palliative care options. The Swiss Federal Court has
ruled that a person has a right to end his or her life provided he or she is of
sound mind. ~ swissinfo.ch, Feb 20
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