Besides chocolate, Swiss army knives, the Matterhorn, the alps for sking, watches and others, one more reason has been augmenting the tourism in Switzerland: the death tourism.
Euthanasia, does everybody know what this difficult word means?
It is the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit. Another expression has become as 'famous' as that one is assisted suicide which happens when someone provides an individual with the information, guidance, and ways to take his or her own life with the intention that they will be used for this purpose. When it is a doctor who helps another person to kill themselves it is called "physician assisted suicide."
Why would one choose it, this is really personal, because it provides a way to relieve extreme pain and also a relief when his/her quality of life is low. All these reasons appliable only in one case: when one has a terminal incurable illnes, not the least, it is a case of freedom of choice.
Assisted death is such a controversial topic that it is only accepted as legal in a minimal amount of places like Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and the State of Oregon in the USA. From these Switzerland has a particularity, it has been the only place in the world where non residents can go and legally find help to end their life. The Swiss law that allows anyone to help patients die, as long as there are no ulterior motives, dates back to 1942 and is at risk recently after a study showed more and more foreigners are traveling to the Alpine country to take their own lives.
Some weeks ago, Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf announced she is considering either restricting Switzerland's assisted suicide law in an attempt to cut what she called "death tourism" claiming that somebody can come to Switzerland and already the next day can have an assisted suicide through one of the so-called assisted suicide organizations. Conitnuing she says "We have no interest, as a country, in being attractive for suicide tourism,". Not to mention that "About one-third of the 400 people who came to Switzerland to die here in 2007 were foreigners from either Great Britain or Germany, where helping someone to kill themselves is almost always illegal," explains Bernatto Stadelmann, vice director of the Swiss Justice Ministry in Bern. The new rules would also prevent oganised assisted suicide from becoming a profit-driven business.
Non-government groups in Switzerland offer assisted suicide programs, including organizations like Exit, Ex-international, and Dignitas. From these just the last one welcomes foreigners., helping patients from abroad to obtain a prescription for a lethal dose of pentobarbital, a sleeping potion. Patients must ingest the drug themselves. Those too ill to drink can use a self-induced injection or a tube through the stomach.
This act of buying death in legal terms where the existing law of the land permits to do so has been seen with bad eyes since the gouvernment received information that in the last years not only patients suffering of terminal illnesses passed decided to end their lives like a British couple who were paralysed after an accident.
Probably until next March the government will send a draft law to the parliament.
Source: http://www.eturbonews.com
the sun
the guardian
No comments:
Post a Comment