It was a far-reaching signal from the judges in Karlsruhe: Everyone has the right to die in their own way, also with the help of others. Parliament is now considering whether guard rails are needed for this.
More than two years after a groundbreaking ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, the Bundestag is today debating the future of euthanasia in Germany.
The general debate is not yet about concrete parliamentary deliberations on bills or motions. However, several groups of deputies have already presented cross-party proposals for possible legal regulations.
At the beginning of 2020, the Federal Constitutional Court overturned a ban on commercial euthanasia that had existed since 2015 because it violated the individual’s right to self-determined dying. “Business-like” has nothing to do with money, but means “designed to be repeated”. The judgment opens a door for organized offers – but also with regulatory options such as advisory duties or waiting periods.
The different proposals
To date, three initiatives have been presented by Parliament, some of which were addressed in the previous electoral period:
- According to the draft of a group of deputies around Lars Castellucci (SPD) and Benjamin Strasser (FDP), the commercial promotion of suicide should be made a criminal offense – but with one exception for adults: In order to determine the free decision without internal and external pressure, in the As a rule, two examinations by a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy three months apart and a comprehensive open-ended consultation are given.
- A group around Katrin Helling-Plahr (FDP), Petra Sitte (Left Party) and Helge Lindh (SPD) proposes a new regulation outside of criminal law. It should “legislatively secure the right to a self-determined death and make it clear that assisting suicide is possible with impunity,” as the draft says. A wide range of advisory services is planned. Doctors should be allowed to prescribe drugs for the purpose of suicide if they assume “the permanence and inner strength of the desire to die”. As a rule, at least ten days should have passed since the consultation.
- The Green MPs Renate Künast and Katja Keul presented the key points for a “law to protect the right to self-determined dying”. It is about creating access to certain narcotics for those affected with clear criteria, it said in the submission. In the process, a distinction should be made between people who suffer from serious illnesses and those who wish to commit suicide for other reasons. Before dispensing lethal drugs, mandatory counseling is appropriate and proportionate in order to ensure the self-determination and permanence of the wish to die.
Source: Stern
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