The Local Germany

New assisted suicide law could criminalize doctors

Fri, 06 Nov 2015 18:25:21 +0100

Germany on Friday passed a law banning professional assisted suicide services - even if practitioners say they do so purely in the interest of suffering people.

MPs set out assisted suicide bill

Thu, 18 Jun 2015 10:41:17 +0200

A group of MPs from the German coalition government presented a bill on Wednesday which would hand doctors the right to perform assisted suicide.

More Germans seek assisted dying abroad

Thu, 21 Aug 2014 16:55:00 +0200

A study revealed today that more people traveled to Switzerland to undergo assisted dying from Germany than from any other country in 2012.

Half of Germans prefer suicide to nursing care

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 17:06:00 +0100

Around half of Germans would chose assisted suicide over becoming dependent on nursing care in their old age, a survey released on Tuesday revealed.

New rules drive suicide firm to Switzerland

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:08:00 +0200

A German assisted suicide organisation said on Friday it had opened an office in Switzerland for fear of possible prosecution at home.

Assisted suicide law splits government

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:16:00 +0200

A row has blown up within the government about possible changes to German assisted suicide laws, after the justice minister said she wanted to enable not just relatives but also doctors and friends to help people to die.

Son jailed for three years for 'mercy-killing' mum

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:02:00 +0200

A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison for killing his mother several years after a riding accident left her in a vegetative state.

Football legend takes own life to beat cancer

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:02:00 +0100

German football legend Timo Konietzka has died – with the help of the Swiss euthanasia association Exit – after writing his own death notice, drinking a beer and seeing his grandchildren for a last time.

A third of doctors would help terminally ill die

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 16:07:00 +0200

More than one in three German doctors would consider helping a patient to commit suicide, according to survey which has been kept under wraps since last September.

Court rules euthanasia with patient consent ok

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:07:00 +0200

Germany's Federal Court of Justice on Friday overturned the conviction of a lawyer who advised the family of a comatose elderly woman to cut off her feeding tube in a landmark euthanasia case.

Doctors acquitted after helping British man to die

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:40:00 +0100

Two German doctors accused of illegally helping a severely ill British man die in 2004 were acquitted Monday amid an emotional national debate on euthanasia.

'Senator Death' sparks euthanasia debate

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:24:00 +0100

A German politician dubbed "Senator Death" has been providing paid assistance to old ladies who want to die, sparking a debate whether he’s a money-hungry granny-killer or a euthanasia rights champion. Exberliner Magazine’s Jacinta Nandi reports.