DIGNITAS

DIGNITAS comment on Zurich voters’ liberal position on assisted dying

16 May 2011

The association „DIGNITAS – to live with dignity – to die with dignity“ expresses its heartfelt gratitude, in the name of all those individuals who need help today and in future, to the Zürich voters for their clear and liberal position in questions of assistance in dying, as expressed in the results of the vote of May 15, 2011. At the same time, DIGNITAS admonishes the authorities on federal and cantonal level to pay at last attention to the protection of human life where it is vulnerable to an exceptionally high degree.

Already in 2002, the Swiss Federal Council (the Swiss Government) explained that the yearly number of suicides in Switzerland counts up to 67.000 [see footnote 1] (which compares to the size of the population of cities like Luzern or St. Gallen or even to one third of the Canton of Basel-Stadt!). The number of suicide attempts is thus fifty times higher than the number of statistically registered suicides. Despite a postulate [see footnote 2] introduced by national council member Hans Widmer (SP, LU), the government did not undertake any actions to finally establish an effective suicide-attempt prophylaxis. Instead, since 2002, the government and the majority of the media depicted the justified and through associations carefully accompanied suicides in an impertinent, hyped and distorted way; entirely in ignorance of the real attitude of the large majority of the population.

DIGNITAS regards it as imperative to finally complement the efforts so far of preventing inconsiderate suicides (suicide prophylaxis) by a carefully thought-of policy of preventing suicide attempts (suicide-attempt prophylaxis).

[1] Answer of the Swiss Federal Council (Swiss Government) dated January 9, 2002, to the question of Andreas Gross regarding suicide and suicides attempts; www.parlament. ch/d/suche/seiten/geschaefte.aspx?gesch_id=20011105 (in German and French)

[2] Postulate Widmer, dated June 13, 2002, regarding suicide prevention; www.parlament. ch/D/Suche/Seiten/geschaefte.aspx?gesch_id=20023251 (in German and French)

Results of the vote according to the office of statistics of the Canton of Zürich
(PDF-file)

A quick glance into the media (Links):

swissinfo: Zurich voters reject ban on “suicide tourism”

Chicago Tribune: Zurich voters overwhelmingly decide to keep assisted suicide, reject ban on ‘suicide tourism’

Irish Times: Voters reject suicide aid ban

The Independent: Swiss vote to continue assisted suicide

BBC News Europe: Zürich votes to keep assisted suicide

Neue Zürcher Zeitung: Absage an die Moralisten

Swiss Television DRS, Schweiz aktuell (starting at 08:00 minutes)

Tages Anzeiger: «Die Sektenbrüder wurden weggefegt»

Ärzte Zeitung: Bürger in Zürich lehnen Stopp der Sterbehilfe ab