‘Suicide tourism’ doubles in four years

‘Suicide tourism’ is on the rise, with the number of people travelling to Switzerland to take their own lives doubling in four years.

Two people from Ireland feature among the growing number of ‘suicide tourists’ who take advantage of right-to-die organisations which assist people in taking their own lives.

Some 611 cases have been recorded between 2008-2012, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

Citizens from Germany (268) and the UK (126) make up the bulk of the numbers, with neurological conditions, such as paralysis, motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis, accounting for almost half of the cases.

However, rheumatic disease such as osteoarthritis/rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and fibromyalgia also feature, as does cancer, impairment of eyesight and/or hearing, and mental illness. Overall, 58.5% of cases were women and the median age of those using the services was 69, although the ages of people seeking help ranged from 23 to 97.

The costs of availing of assisted suicide vary widely. Dignitas, which has 5,700 members and does not restrict its services to Swiss residents or citizens, charges €66-€415 depending on the kind of membership (some offer lifelong) and charges €8,700 for assisted suicide if formalities are carried out by Dignitas.

Dignitas claims to carry out 150 assisted suicides per year. All but four of the ‘suicide tourists’ in this study — entitled Suicide Tourism: A Pilot Study on the Swiss Phenomenon had gone to Dignitas.

The researchers, led by the Institute of Medicine at Zurich University, suggest the phenomenon of suicide tourism has prompted legislative changes and/or serious debate in Germany, the UK, and France — the principal sources of this type of tourism. However, British barrister Charles Foster, who has worked on right-to-die cases, said he was not convinced that suicide tourism was behind legislative change.

Instead, it could be due to the “liberalisation of public opinion that comes naturally, if irrationally, with familiarity” and “the slowly growing public acknowledgment that there is something intellectually, if not morally, uncomfortable, about getting another country to do your dirty work”.

Both euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in Ireland. Under the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993, it is an offence to aid, abet, counsel or procure the suicide or attempted suicide of another person.

The maximum penalty for this offence is 14 years in jail. The law was restated in the case of multiple sclerosis sufferer Marie Fleming, who wanted her partner, Tom Curran, to be able to assist her in her death without fear of prosecution.

When the High Court ruled against her, she appealed to the Supreme Court, but in April 2013 her legal battle came to an end when it upheld the original ruling. Ms Fleming died on December 20.