British client: Reg Crew, pictured with his wife Win, died in 2003
Posted on 11/08/2007 7:56:46 PM PST by Stoat
British client: Reg Crew, pictured with his wife Win, died in 2003
Dignitas has formed mobile teams which meet those who want to kill themselves at the location of their choice.
An official and a nurse then hand the client a lethal dose of chemicals which is taken intravenously or orally.
They later call police to report the suicide.
The move comes after the Swiss-based organisation lost its lease on the Zurich flat where hundreds of people, including several Britons, had gone to die.
Other residents in the building had complained about dead bodies being taken out through the lift they used and a fleet of ambulances or hearses parked below.
Dignitas had wanted to book a suite of hotel rooms to carry out the assisted deaths but withdrew when hotel groups threatened legal action if clients checked in to die.
Now it has formed the mobile killing service, details of which emerged after police confirmed that two German men aged 50 and 65 had been helped to die in cars parked in woodland not far from Zurich.
Both were given a concoction of chemicals which they voluntarily drank - which means there is no possibility of prosecuting the suicide group.
And police said it was unlikely any action would be taken as those who wished to commit suicide were "entitled to choose the place and the time of their deaths".
Dignitas was founded in 1998 by Swiss lawyer Ludwig Minelli to help those with incurable physical and mental illnesses to die with the aid of doctors and nurses.
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'Suicide squad' : Accompanying clients who want to kill themselves at the location of their choice.
In Switzerland it is legal to assist a suicide, but only Dignitas will take clients from abroad.
Some 753 foreigners visited its offices and ended their lives with an overdose after paying £3,000.
Swiss law specifies that the agencies that help arrange the deaths do it for "honourable reasons" and cannot profit from the death, aside from charging basic fees.
Dignitas claims £3,000 is what it costs to organise the death.
There is no limit on the ages, which have ranged from 20 to 95.
Its office was closed on September 27 and a spokesman said it had been left with no option but to set up mobile teams after failing to find another property.
Those wishing to end their lives meet a Dignitas representative several days before the date they have chosen to die to pay the fee and discuss the poison they will use.
Dignitas insists it turns down some who are not terminally ill or who display signs of instability.
A Dignitas official and nurse arrange to meet them at the place they have chosen to commit suicide.
The client drives themselves or is driven by family to the meeting point.
Some may chose to die in their own homes and for foreigners there is the option of a hotel or hire car.
The Dignitas staff then prepare a lethal dose of a painless barbiturate and watch to see that it is properly administered.
Once the person is dead, the Dignitas staff check for lack of vital signs, fill out paperwork and call the police.
Dignitas first gained prominence in Britain in January 2003 when it assisted the suicide of 74-year-old Reg Crew, who had motor neurone disease.
The event that was filmed for ITV's Tonight With Trevor McDonald.
Other Britons include Bob and Jenny Stokes, who committed suicide together in the Zurich apartment after 25 years of marriage.
Relatives claimed that despite having chronic health problems, the couple had not been terminally ill.
The last known British person to use Dignitas was Carol Kates, a 55-yearold nurse from Lincolnshire, who took a cocktail of drugs in May.
Dignitas appears to be particularly popular in Germany, receiving so many requests for its services that it has up an office in the country.
But some politicians and officials there have condemned the organisation. Josef Hecken, the justice minister in Germany's Saarland region, called the latest Dignitas way of dying "outrageous".
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Dignitas insists it turns down some who are not terminally ill or who display signs of instability.
A Dignitas official and nurse arrange to meet them at the place they have chosen to commit suicide.
(edit)
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Here in the USA, a Nursing licensure can be obtained with as little as a 2-year Community College degree; I'm not sure what the Swiss standards are.
"I apologize for that traffic violation officer, I was just in such a hurry to die I was distracted. Go ahead and write that ticket, but I'm afraid I won't be around to pay"
Death Ping
Seriously though. Argentina was way ahead of these guys. During the dirty war many lefties were "suicided". Unfortunately the government gave way before they could complete their work.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The client drives themselves or is driven by family to the meeting point.
Just what we want, end-stage cancer patients wheeling their roadsters around the city trying to make one final appointment.
Only if you order it with the anchovies.
I agree.
However, this is Switzerland.
Apparently I am not sufficiently "open-minded" or "intellectually advanced" to be able to appreciate The Swiss Way of doing things.
The weird part about it all is that there is a different form of suicide that is far less objectionable, in fact, is almost laudable. It’s called “A trip to rural Mexico”.
The purpose is to escape the twisted machinations of doctors, government and technology to extend life beyond where it should naturally end, followed by the grotesque games played with one’s Earthly remains after death.
There are hundreds of small, rural towns in Mexico, where for a small fee one can reside in their final days, and be buried with honor and respect in a polite funeral, once death has visited. Not suicide in the usual sense, just being in a place where death is about, to be found in a sip of water, a breath of air, or just about, sooner or later.
Perhaps a friendly Priest or Reverend to minister to you in your final days, to help you recapture your faith, surrounded by people unafraid of life, and thoughtful to their elders, happy to tend to your needs like you were a relative, a tradition in such places.
And you can repay their kindness with a small stipend, that may improve their lives, perhaps buy their children new shoes for their small feet, or some extra rice and beans for a while. Perhaps much more for the favor.
It will not change the world, but it might give some peace to a troubled spirit, tired and sick of Deux ex machina, the refusal to permit others a harmonious passing from the cacophony of life, and the morbid curiosity of those who ritually defile the dead as a strange entertainment, and for great sums of money.
For in passing itself, is it not to seek the peace that passeth understanding?
That to me is sick.
I'm guessing that privately, deep down, she will be elated, not suicidal.
Thank you.
I would suggest that the very real, pre-existing option that you relate would be virtually unthinkable to the Socialist mindset, who demand that all needs, from cradle to grave, be either provided by the Government or enthusiastically supported by the Government and Law. When it is problematic for the Government to automatically and without a word provide a 'service', The Socialist wants to be able to pick up a Government-printed and distributed Official Telephone Book, lift the receiver that connects to a Government-run telephone exchange and contact a Government-approved entity to provide the 'service'.
Going to rural Mexico and drinking the naturally-lethal water or travelling in an area where you will likely be beset by banditos / 'police' would require original thought that is outside the realm of Government Control, and it seems that many Europeans are absolutely delighted to pay many times what the cost of a plane ride to Mexico would run, in order to have it done in a Government-approved manner that has a facade of Government Approved medical science attached to it.
That's because you are a mentally-healthy kitty :-)
This scares me just because of all the people who come to my house with the wrong address.
LOL
I like to live too.
Dignitas ping....
LMAO!
He certainly has the 'supply' end of things neatly tied up, doesn't he?
An essential take on a disgusting societal trend, and a nice blog...added to the 'stoat faves list'
:-)
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