No assisted suicide for healthy people
The Swiss Medical Association (FMH) has agreed on revised guidelines for the “Management of Dying and Death” proposed by the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMS).
The guidelines will be part of the code doctors have to adhere to in the future and are as follows:
- The physician must – other than in justified exceptional cases – conduct at least two detailed discussions with the patient separated by an interval of at least two weeks.
- The symptoms of the illness and/or functional impairment must be unbearable, the severity of which is to be substantiated by a legitimate diagnosis and prognosis.
- Assisted suicide for healthy persons is not medically or ethically justifiable.
Before, during, and after the assisted suicide takes place, the needs of the relatives and interprofessional care and support team must also be taken into consideration. Required support is to be given and must be documented.
