|
|
Swiss minister calls for stop of "death tourism" |
 |
+ |
- |
09:15, July 14, 2008 |
Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf has called for a stop of "death tourism" -- the practice of people traveling to Switzerland to die, a local newspaper reported on Sunday.
"Today somebody can come to Switzerland and already the next day can have an assisted suicide through one of these assisted suicide organizations. This should not be possible," Widmer-Schlumpf told the German-language Sonntags Zeitung newspaper.
Under Swiss law, active euthanasia is illegal but assisted suicide is not. With the latter, the patient has to carry out the final act himself. Several Swiss organizations offer assisted suicide service.
Widmer-Schlumpf would like to introduce a period of reflection between the first contact made with an organization and an assisted suicide. During this time the person would undergo counseling from the organization or a third party.
She also called for assisted suicide groups to be financially transparent and to ensure that they had the necessary documents. She also criticized the use of helium for deaths.
Her remarks came after the government announced earlier this month that it would be reviewing the rules for assisted suicide.
Source:Xinhua
|
|
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article