BackgroundFollowing the increased presence of the Right-to-Die Movement, improved end-of-life options, and the political and legal status of aid-in-dying around the globe, suicide tourism has become a promising alternative for individuals who wish to end their lives. Yet, little is known about this from the perspective of those who engage in the phenomenon.MethodsThis study applied the qualitative research approach, following the grounded theory tradition. It includes 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews with Israeli members of the Swiss non-profit Dignitas who contemplated traveling (...) to Switzerland for aid-in-dying.ResultsSeven themes emerged from the data analysis, including health and functioning; feelings regarding survivorship and existence; interacting with the health sector; attitudes regarding death and dying; suicide; choosing death; and choosing suicide tourism. A significant portion of the participants had experienced suicidal thoughts and had even previously attempted suicide, some more than once. Most of them referred to chronic illnesses, functional disability, and social isolation. They understand suffering within the subjective dimension, namely only by the person who is actually subjected to the disease, ailments, and disability. Participants regarded aid-in-dying in Switzerland as positive thanks to its guaranteed outcome: "beautiful death", compared to "disadvantaged dying" which places a burden on the participants' loved ones throughout the prolonged dying. Most of them do not necessarily want to have their loved ones beside them when they die, and they see no significant meaning in dying in a foreign country to which they have no emotional or civil attachment.ConclusionThe desirable approval or tragic refusal by Dignitas to participants' requests for suicide tourism enhances the paradox between the perception of aid-in-dying as a mechanism for fulfilling controlled death and its bureaucratic and materialistic characteristics specifically reflected in a paid, formalized approach to aid-in-dying that cultivate dependency and collaboration. (shrink)

Euthanasia has been a subject of debate worldwide. It has brought up multiple controversies in different countries and among different societies. Over the years, euthanasia has been an active topic of research in the field of bioethics, owing to its numerous ethical and legal implications. In this article, we take a brief look into the laws and legislation surrounding euthanasia in different parts of the world.

The target article (Nelson et al. 2023) offers a valuable contribution to the “paradox of experience,” which was illustrated by using examples about access to unproven medical products and disabili...

The legal and moral validity of euthanasia has been questioned in different situations. In India, the status of euthanasia is no different. It was the Aruna Ramachandra Shanbaug case that got significant public attention and led the Supreme Court of India to initiate detailed deliberations on the long ignored issue of euthanasia. Realising the importance of this issue and considering the ongoing and pending litigation before the different courts in this regard, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of (...) India issued a public notice on May 2016 that invited opinions from the citizens and the concerned stakeholders on the proposed draft bill entitled The Medical Treatment of Terminally Ill Patients Bill. Globally, only a few countries have legislation with discreet and unambiguous guidelines on euthanasia. The ongoing developments have raised a hope of India getting a discreet law on euthanasia in the future. (shrink)

Although death is an inevitable part of life, tourism scholarship has not comprehensibly engaged with this concept. Death-related tourism literature has focused disproportionally on places and experiences of dark tourism, leaving a vast array of other dying-related tourism discourses at the periphery. Drawing on anthropological and existential conceptualisations of death, we develop an all-encompassing theoretical framework comprised of four dimensions: Perspective, Intention, Number, and Involvement. Supported by existing studies, mass media reports, and other secondary data, we demonstrate that the interplay (...) between death and tourism is complex and involves a range of events, tourists' behaviors and experiences. The conclusion proposes future research directions at the intersection of death and tourism. (shrink)

Al definir “suicidio”, la Real Academia Española toma una opción filosófica que se aleja de algunos propósitos y puntos de vista de la salubridad pública, y acentúa su carácter de actividad íntima que realiza un sujeto capaz de acción. Los límites del concepto no son claros; hay un continuo entre el suicidio y encontrar la muerte por causa natural, accidental o conducta de riesgo. Pero el suicidio solo puede ser fruto de un acto soberano, de modo que quien esté privado (...) de voluntad no es un suicida. Esto permite discutir los planteamientos de B. Spinoza e I. Kant, así como algunas posturas de sanidad pública que no ven ese carácter soberano del suicidio. (shrink)

Le projet d’aide volontaire à mourir (AVM) s’est considérablement développé et à un rythme accéléré au cours des deux dernières décennies dans plus de 30 pays sur quatre continents. Pourtant, parallèlement à cet essor, une opposition croissante s’est manifestée sur la base de motifs juridiques, médicaux et éthiques avancés par un large éventail de détracteurs, ce qui a donné une pause aux projets déjà en cours et a mis un terme à leur expansion. Dans le même temps, les personnes qui (...) cherchent à soulager leurs souffrances continuent de se voir refuser l’accès à l’AVM ou d’être contraintes d’attendre qu’il soit mis en place en raison d’une obligation de vie décrétée. Ceux qui aident au-delà des paramètres légaux d’un régime d’AVM s’exposent à des poursuites pénales. L’opposition à l’AVM a augmenté le risque que des personnes désespérées cherchant à être soulagées se suicident violemment, mettant en danger leur famille, leurs amis et les premiers intervenants. À la lumière de cette évolution préoccupante, nous identifions comment l’approche législative dominante à la source de ces questions est à la fois paradigmatique et problématique. Les amendements aux interdictions existantes de l’aide à mourir ou de l’homicide deviennent le fondement d’un régime d’aide à mourir qui codifie ses caractéristiques essentielles, y compris la typologie des clients, la qualité de vie pour l’accès au service ou son refus, les personnes autorisées à fournir AVM, ainsi que le moment et la manière dont il peut être administré. Bien que cette approche continue d’être largement reproduite et qu’elle ait apporté un certain soulagement à une vie insupportable, nous montrons comment une approche alternative, éprouvée et fondée sur des preuves pour l’aide à la mort volontaire offre une voie optionnelle qui pourrait éviter bon nombre des aspects les plus difficiles du modèle prédominant. (shrink)