Euthanasia in Switzerland

Active euthanasia is illegal in Switzerland (administration by a third-party), but supplying the means for dying is legal (assisted suicide), as long as the action which directly causes death is performed by the one wishing to die.^[1] Assisted suicide in the country has been legal since 1941, and Switzerland was the first country in the world to permit any kind of assisted dying.^[2] In 2014, a total of 752 assisted suicides were performed (330 men, 422 women), compared to 1,029 non-assisted suicides (754 men, 275 women); most of the assisted suicides concerned elderly people suffering from a terminal disease.^[3] In what critics have termed suicide tourism, Swiss euthanasia organisations have been widely used by foreigners. As of 2008, German citizens were 60 percent of the total number of suicides assisted by the organisation Dignitas.^[4]