Dignitas (non-profit organisation)

For other uses, see Dignitas.

Dignitas is a Swiss assisted suicide (euthanasia) group that helps those with terminal illness and severe physical and mental illnesses to die assisted by qualified doctors and nurses. Additionally, they provide euthanasia for people with incurable mental illnesses provided that they are of sound judgment and submit to an in-depth medical report prepared by a psychiatrist that establishes the patient's condition as fulfilling the specifications of the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland.

History and operation

Dignitas was founded in 1998 by Ludwig Minelli, a Swiss lawyer. Swiss laws on assisted suicide clearly state that a person who assists in an assisted suicide can only be prosecuted if they are motivated by self-interest: an important legal point. As a result, Dignitas ensures that it acts as an entirely neutral party by proving that aside from non-recurring fees, they have absolutely nothing whatsoever to gain from the deaths of its members. This is done in the following manner: the person who wishes to die meets several Dignitas personnel, in addition to an independent doctor, for a private consultation. The independent doctor assesses the evidence provided by the patient and is met on two separate occasions, with a time gap between each of the consultations. Legally admissible proof that the person wishes to die is also created, i.e. a signed affidavit, countersigned by independent witnesses. In cases where a person is physically unable to sign a document, a short video film of the person is made in which they are asked to confirm their identity, that they wish to die, and that their decision is made of their own free will, without any form of coercion. Such evidence of informed consent is entirely private and is not intended to ever be made public. The evidence is created and stored purely for use in any possible future legal dispute regarding the person who wishes to die, e.g. allegations that someone was forced to commit suicide. Finally, a few minutes before the lethal overdose is provided, the person is once again reminded that taking the overdose will surely kill them. Additionally, they are asked several times whether they want to proceed, or take some time to consider the matter further. This gives the person the opportunity to stop the process. However, if at this point the person states that they are determined to proceed, a lethal overdose is provided and ingested.

Statistics

Ludwig Minelli said in one interview in March 2008 that Dignitas had thus far assisted 840 people, 60% of them Germans.

Most people coming to Dignitas do not plan to die but need insurance in case their illness becomes intolerable. Of those who receive the green light, 70% never return to Dignitas .

Criticism

The Daily Mail of London has chronicled examples of alleged shortcomings by Dignitas. According to a January 26, 2007 article:

Paul Clifford, 40, said the family had had a ‘terrible’ experience and likened the [Dignitas] flat where his mother died to a ‘backstreet abortion place’ with graffiti-covered walls.

To add to his shock, when Mrs Coombes raised concerns that her son might struggle to cope with her death, a member of staff said he, too, could die at a ‘cut price’ rate.

...

‘He wanted us to go out of the room while he checked she was dead. We had to sit on a flight of stairs which stank of urine.

‘We went back in but two police officers, the state prosecutor and two staff and a medical examiner arrived. We were asked loads of questions, with my mum still slumped there, at the same coffee table, in her wheelchair. We were there for at least two and a half hours.’

Dignitas has moved to a new location in a village of Schwerzenbach since the article was written.

High-costs and non-transparent finances

According to Ludwig Minelli , Dignitas charges its patients €4,000 (£3,182) for preparation and suicide assistance, and €7,000 (£5,568) in case of taking over family duties, including funerals, medical costs and official fees.

Despite being a non-profit organization, Dignitas has repeatedly refused to open its finances to the public .

Suicide tourism

As of October 2008, approximately 100 British citizens had travelled to Switzerland from the UK to die at one of Dignitas' rented apartments in Zurich.

Main article: Suicide tourism

Use of non-standard suicide methods

In a few cases in 2008, Dignitas used breathing helium gas as a suicide method instead of a Nembutal overdose. However, in general, Dignitas uses the following protocol: an oral dose of an anti-emetic drug, followed approximately 30 minutes later by a lethal overdose of powdered Nembutal dissolved in a glass of water or fruit juice. If necessary, the drugs can be ingested via a drinking straw. The Nembutal overdose depresses the central nervous system, causing the person to become drowsy and fall asleep approximately 10 minutes after drinking it. Anaesthesia progresses to coma as the person's breathing becomes more shallow. Death is caused by respiratory arrest, which occurs within 30 minutes of ingesting the Nembutal.

Some people believe that hypoxic death caused by helium is less peaceful than Nembutal ingestion and causes shaking and twitching . The reason for the use of helium was, according to Dignitas, a new regulation imposed by the medical authorities of Canton Zurich in Switzerland. This regulation prohibits doctors to write a prescription for Nembutal after a single consultation. Some people are so ill that they cannot travel to Zurich several times. In 2009, Dr Philip Nitschke revealed a method whereby individuals may use a better method than helium, using his euthanasia device, which used nitrogen, a more physiological gas than helium.

Allegations by Dignitas ex-employee

Soraya Wernli (a nurse employed by Dignitas for two-and-a-half years, until March 2005), accused the organisation of being a 'production line of death concerned only with profits' . Amongst other allegations of irregularities, Wernli has pressed for an official examination of Dignitas' financial records. Although approximiately £7,000 is charged for an assisted suicide and funeral, Wernli claims many wealthy and vulnerable people (e.g. Martha Hauschildt) have bequeathed vast sums to Minelli. Following the suicide of Peter Auhagen in August 2004 (which allegedly took 70 hours), Wernli resigned from her job at Dignitas and contacted the Swiss police. Dignitas denied all the allegations and pointed out that Wernli left Dignitas several years ago and cannot know how Dignitas works now. Dr. Minelli said that "If the state prosecutors feel I’m making myself rich they should start legal proceedings."

Other organizations in Switzerland

EXIT is another Swiss organization providing assisted suicide. In 2008, it had 50,000 members. However, EXIT strictly denies suicide assistance for people from abroad .

EXIT Switzerland is not affiliated with Exit International, the similarly-named voluntary euthanasia organization founded by Philip Nitschke.

Dignitas in media

In 2008, a documentary film known as The Suicide Tourist (Selbstmord-Touristen in the German version) was filmed, directed by John Zaritsky. The documentary depicts stories of several people who come to Switzerland to end their lives. The film was shown on the Swiss television network SF1 and is available as a web movie on the Dignitas website.

Right to Die? is a controversial documentary aired on Sky Real Lives about the assisted suicide of Craig Ewert, a 59-year-old retired university professor who suffered from motor neurone disease. Ewert traveled to Switzerland where he was assisted by the Dignitas NGO. The documentary shows him passing away with Mary, his wife of 37 years, at his side. Oscar-winning Canadian John Zaritsky directed and produced the film.

The BBC produced a film titled A Short Stay in Switzerland telling the story of Dr Anne Turner, who made the journey to the Dignitas assisted suicide clinic, on 24 January 2006 she ended her life, the day before her 67th birthday. The film was shown on BBC1 on 25.1.09.

British maestro Sir Edward Downes, who conducted the BBC Philharmonic and the Royal Opera but struggled in recent years (but was not terminally ill) as his hearing and sight failed, died with his wife, who had terminal cancer, at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland in July of 2009. He was 85 and she was 74. Dignitas has also advocated for the rights of a Canadian couple, Betty and George Coumbias, to fulfill a mutual suicide pact. The Coumbias seek to become the first husband and wife to kill themselves simultaneously with legal authorization.

See also

• assisted suicide
• Philip Nitschke
• Betty and George Coumbias
• Right to Die? a documentary

External links

• Exit home page
• Dignitas website (In German) (some information in english)
• Dignitas: Swiss suicide helpers (BBC news article about Dignitas, Last Updated: Monday, 20 January 2003, 14:38 GMT)
• DIGNITAS in Switzerland - its philosophy, the legal situation, actual problems, & possibilities for Britons who wish to end their lives A Talk given to a meeting of Friends at the End, in London
• Death of Sir Edward Thomas Downes, CBE at Dignitas (BBC News Item - July 2009)
• Next: Assisted Suicide for Healthy People
• Guide to Dignitas by Voluntary Euthanasia Society of New South Wales