January 28, 2023
end of life issues

Dignitas on the move again

Michael Cook

Residents object

The Swiss suicide group Dignitas is homeless again. The organisation will be
forced to leave its current location in a Zurich suburb when its lease runs out
later this month. And its plans to move to the small town of Wetzikon, near
Zurich, have been dashed after residents there refused. The
site was next to a kindergarten.

Now its critics fear that Dignitas may return to staging suicides in car
parks and other public spaces while it hunts for a new base. "If authorities
boycott us, we cannot simply stop helping suffering people. And we have staff
who need to be paid every month," said Dignitas boss Ludwig Minelli.

More than 800 Britons who want to end their own lives are currently
registered with the controversial organisation. The British government is coming
under increasing pressure change the law to allow people to escort relatives and
friends to Zurich to commit suicide. About 100 people have done so – and paid a
hefty fee to Dignitas – but technically it is illegal and their escorts could be
charged with assisting a suicide. ~ Austrian Times, June 9

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