Posted on 07/03/2011 10:47:04 AM PDT by wagglebee
Despite controversy at home and abroad over its law on assisted suicide, the Swiss government has decided not to modify it. Instead, it plans to promote palliative care and suicide prevention.
Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga says that abuses of the system can be tackled under the existing legislation. “Revising the current legislation could give an official stamp of approval to organisations offering their services for assisted suicide,” she said.
Over the past ten years the Swiss justice ministry has studied several options for dealing with assisted suicide clinics which help Swiss citizens and foreigners to die. In its latest, it proposed tougher regulation of assisted suicide groups.
Switzerland’s main assisted suicide organisations, Exit and Dignitas, welcomed the decision. Ludwig Minelli, of Dignitas, told SwissInfo that abuses of assisted suicide in Switzerland are extremely rare.
The number of cases of “suicide tourism” from other countries dropped from 195 in 2006, to 97 in 2010, according to the Federal Health Office. However, the number of presumed assisted suicide cases involving Swiss residents increased to 257 from 150.
Surprise, surprise.
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Very bad. More Swiss killing themselves, how horrible that the Swiss government chose evil.
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