The octogenarian who requested the assistance of Exit to commit suicide “has finally ended his life”. His brothers had sought legal advice to block the actions of Exit, believing that, as their brother was in “perfect health”, it was “unacceptable for Exit to exercise such considerable power”. Geneva Civil Court should announce its decision at the end of January.
The Exit association regrets the fact that “the delay in the legal system, which attempted to dissuade the person through a protracted procedure, led the person to take his own life in isolation”. However, the lawyer appointed by the two brothers pointed out that they had filed their complaint” against Exit for failure to assist (…). The association does not offer any alternative other than death. It could, for instance, have advised the octogenarian to seek psychological help or hospital admission”. Furthermore, the procedure “focused solely on the flexibility of assisted suicide criteria introduced by Exit in 2014”, which from that point onwards, allowed assisted suicide for “people presenting with multiple age-related debilitating diseases who were not terminally ill.
Tribune de Genève (11/11/2016)
Photo : Pixabay, DR.