Helping people to die. When is it punishable?

Helping people to die. When is it punishable?

 "Switzerland seems to be one of the few countries where it is possible to commit suicide with the help of a doctor or associations such as Exit or Dignitas. In what situations is it actually punishable to assist someone who wishes to die? " 

N, Geneva

For several decades now, assisted suicide has been the subject of much debate, not only in Switzerland but also beyond our borders. In addition to the legal issues involved, it raises ethical and moral questions, particularly in the context of medical law, regarding the conditions that must be met by those seeking such assistance.

When a third party intervenes in one way or another in the death of a person, their behaviour may be punishable. In this respect, a distinction must be made between the fact of being the author of the act that will lead to death, for example by administering a lethal substance, and the fact of providing assistance without, however, adopting behaviour that will lead to death, for example by making the said substance available to others.

In the first of these cases, the behaviour is punishable if it constitutes homicide, as punishable under art. 111 et seq of the Swiss Penal Code (SPC). On the other hand, in the second case, the act is only contrary to the law if the person helping the person committing suicide is guided by selfish motives (art. 115 of the Swiss Criminal Code), for example if the act is motivated by the desire to receive an inheritance or simply out of spite. It is from this nuance that the legality of assisted suicide and the relatively liberal regulation of Swiss law in this area derive.

In the medical field, the ethical guidelines of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMS) lay down certain conditions for assisting a patient's suicide. In particular, the question of the patient's capacity for discernment is fundamental, i.e. whether the person genuinely wishes to die and is capable of making such a decision, as well as the presence of an incurable disease.

Assisted suicide organisations also set out the conditions under which they provide assistance and generally stipulate that the patient must be suffering from an illness from which there is virtually no cure. Procedures are put in place to ensure that a person's wish to die is free from external pressure and has been carefully considered.

The right to die with dignity is therefore a social issue that raises the question of whether the State can or should provide assistance to those who wish to end their lives, in particular by facilitating access to substances likely to lead to death.