Assisted Suicide in Switzerland

Assisted Suicide

Ethics, Switzerland, End of life, Assisted Death, Natural History

Background: Researchers want to learn more about how the Swiss model of assisted suicide works. To do this, they have interviewed 25 Swiss experts. The researchers will draw on research in the fields of ethics, law, and medicine to analyze the transcripts. Objective: To describe the practice of assisted suicide in Switzerland and to study how the policy is carried out, how the right-to-die societies work, and the ethical implications of the practice. Eligibility: Swiss experts in the field of assisted suicide Design: The study includes 25 interviews that have already been conducted. The participants were: * academics * doctors and others in medical care * a government official * representatives of right-to-die societies. Researchers will analyze the data using qualitative methods. Two researchers will develop a coding scheme and code the texts and analyze the data.

Switzerland is the only country in the world that enables assisted suicide by lay people, i.e., people who are not physicians. All other countries that have adopted aid-in-dying legislation require that a physician provides this assistance. This project probes the reasons for adopting this policy, and the advantages and the disadvantages of the Swiss model at the end of life. Are the Swiss aid-in-dying volunteers able to provide well-informed assistance to patients in need? Is the Swiss model one to be followed by other nations? The project will focus on the work of the Swiss aid-in-dying societies. The study draws on research in the fields of ethics, law and medicine. Its novelty lies in incorporating different methods of analysis, reflecting on the right to die with dignity within a liberal framework that aims to respect fundamental human rights.

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