Archive: Switzerland and the Rise of 'Suicide Tourism' (2014)

From the TI archives — originally published September 2014. A note on a difficult subject, handled as it was then: as a question of law, medicine, and human choice.

The Switzerland of Bollywood romance — Alpine meadows, mountain trains, love stories — is also, improbably, the world's best-known destination for assisted suicide.

Assisted suicide has been tolerated under Swiss law since the 1940s, and organizations there openly assist non-residents. Because mercy killing is illegal in most countries, terminally ill people from abroad — disproportionately from the UK and Germany — have traveled to Switzerland to end their lives. The phenomenon acquired a name: "suicide tourism."

In 2014, a study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics put numbers to the trend: cases of assisted suicide involving non-residents had roughly doubled between 2008 and 2012. CNN's reporting that August noted that Switzerland has no detailed statutory rules governing the conditions for assisted suicide, though medical professional codes permit it in defined circumstances.

The debate the trend provoked hasn't settled. Supporters frame it as autonomy — the right of a suffering person to choose the terms of their own end. Critics see exploitation of the vulnerable and worry about normalizing death as a medical service. Switzerland's unusual legal openness made it the laboratory where the world argues about both.

This article describes a historical news story. It is not advice of any kind. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out — in the US, call or text 988; in India, call the Vandrevala Foundation helpline at 1860-2662-345.