assisted suicide

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Use of 'Suicide Capsule' Suspended After Arrests

The 370 people waiting to use it will have to wait as criminal probe proceeds

(Newser) - Advocacy groups behind a so-called suicide capsule said Sunday they have suspended the process of taking applications to use it—which numbered over 370 last month—as a criminal investigation into its first use in Switzerland is completed, the AP reports. The president of Switzerland-based The Last Resort, Florian Willet,...

Arrests Follow First Death in Swiss Suicide Pod

US woman used Sarco device to deliver a fatal dose of nitrogen gas on Monday in Switzerland

(Newser) - Several people have been taken into custody in Switzerland following the first use of an assisted suicide device that delivers a fatal dose of nitrogen gas at the touch of a button. The $1 million Sarco capsule developed by Netherlands-based assisted suicide group Exit International features a sealed chamber in...

Woman's Controversial Death Wish Is Finally Granted

Netherlands' Zoraya ter Beek, 29, gets the OK for an assisted death due to mental health struggles

(Newser) - For nearly four years, Zoraya ter Beek has been patiently biding her time, going through the laborious process in the Netherlands to get the green light for an assisted suicide due to what she describes as overwhelming mental suffering. Last week, ter Beek finally saw her request granted, clearing the...

More States May Let the Terminally Ill End Their Lives

10 states allow it to some degree and a dozen are considering it

(Newser) - On a brisk day at a restaurant outside Chicago, Deb Robertson sat with her teenage grandson to talk about her death. She didn't cry when she learned two months ago that the cancerous tumors in her liver were spreading, portending a tormented death. But later, she received a call....

Dying Political Ad Pioneer Has Some Parting Advice

Hal Malchow, who has set Thursday for his death, thinks modern ad campaigns are outdated

(Newser) - A profile of longtime political consultant Hal Machow in Politico Magazine is notable on two fronts. First, Malchow has written a book in which he advocates for a fundamental change in political advertising. But it's the second reason that may cause double-takes: Malchow, who is in his early 70s,...

Woman Who Sought Change in Law Gets Her Last Wish

Connecticut woman Lynda Bluestein ended her life peacefully in Vermont

(Newser) - A terminally ill Connecticut woman ended her life in Vermont on Thursday in what her husband says was the "comfortable and peaceful" death she wanted. Lynda Bluestein, 76, had pushed for Vermont to change its medically assisted suicide law to allow assisted suicide for nonresidents. The law was changed...

Vermont Drops Residency Rule From Assisted Suicide Law

Move is a US first

(Newser) - Vermont on Tuesday became the first state in the country to change its medically assisted suicide law to allow terminally ill people from out of state to take advantage of it to end their lives. Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed the bill that removes the residency requirement for the decades-old...

Frida Kahlo's Death May Have Been Expedited by Husband

So says the grandson of Diego Rivera, Kahlo's spouse, in new BBC documentary

(Newser) - "I hope the exit is joyful. And I hope never to come back." Researchers say that was the last entry in the diary of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, the culmination of years of physical suffering due to childhood polio, a trolley accident, multiple miscarriages, a possible birth defect,...

Lawsuit Says Amazon Sells 'Suicide Kits' to Teens

Suit blames two deaths on the company

(Newser) - Two families have filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the retail giant of not only selling but essentially curating "suicide kits." Per NPR, the complaint accuses Amazon of assisting in the suicides of two teenagers by selling sodium nitrite and then recommending other products, including a scale, an...

A Loosened Assisted Death Law Draws Critics

In Canada, those with a chronic illness who aren't terminally ill can qualify to die

(Newser) - In 2016, Canada legalized assisted death, and by the end of last year, some 31,644 Canadians had opted to die under the law. The New York Times looks at just 224 of them, who were not terminally ill but were able to secure permission to end their lives thanks...

Lawyer: Director Died by Assisted Suicide

Jean-Luc Godard decided to say, 'Now, it’s enough,' lawyer says

(Newser) - Moviemaking legend Jean-Luc Godard died Tuesday —and it was his decision to do so, lawyer Patrick Jeanneret says. Jeanneret says the 91-year-old French-Swiss director died by assisted suicide in Switzerland, where he had lived for decades, the Guardian reports. The lawyer told AFP Godard "had recourse to legal...

You No Longer Need to Live in Oregon to Use State's Assisted Suicide Law

State drops its residency requirement

(Newser) - Oregon will no longer require people to be residents of the state to use its law allowing terminally ill people to receive lethal medication, after a lawsuit challenged the requirement as unconstitutional. In a settlement filed in US District Court in Portland on Monday, the Oregon Health Authority and the...

He Helped Pass Assisted Suicide Law, Used It Himself

Former Vermont legislator Willem Jewett had terminal diagnosis, ended his life

(Newser) - A former Vermont legislator and House majority leader has died with the help of a law he helped pass that allows the terminally ill to end their own lives, per the AP . Willem Jewett died Jan. 12 at his home in Ripton at age 58, said his wife, Ellen McKay...

Colombia Woman Wins Right To Die After Historic Fight

Martha Sepúlveda, who was battling ALS, has died

(Newser) - Update: A Colombia woman who, for months, was fighting for her right to end her own life, has died by euthanasia. Per the Washington Post , 51-year-old Martha Sepúlveda, who suffered from ALS, won her high-profile battle to die “according to her idea of autonomy and dignity,” per...

Law Permitting Assisted Suicide Takes Effect

After completing a series of steps, Austrians may receive lethal drugs from a pharmacy

(Newser) - Austrians with a terminal illness or permanent, debilitating condition now may seek help in ending their life. Parliament approved legalizing assisted suicide last week after a Constitutional Court ruling that said the existing ban was a violation of the right to self-determination, Deutsche Welle reports. The Assisted Suicide Act took...

Suicide Capsule Can Be Used in Switzerland
Suicide Pod Can Be
Used in Switzerland
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Dec 11, 2021 2:45 PM CST

Suicide Pod Can Be Used in Switzerland

The Sarco is cleared for use

(Newser) - An assisted suicide pod first introduced three and a half years ago has now been cleared for use in Switzerland. The Sarco, invented by Dr. Philip Nitschke of the Exit International nonprofit, has passed a legal review and can be operated in the country, SwissInfo reports. Assisted suicide was already...

Psychologist Says He Gave 'Suicide Powder' to 100+ People

Dutch 78-year-old wants attention brought to assisted suicide laws

(Newser) - A Dutch psychologist says he helped more than 100 people who wished to die by equipping them with "suicide powder," in an effort to bring attention to the Netherlands' laws on assisted dying. Only a doctor is legally allowed to assist, and only if the person choosing to...

She Helped Her Father Die, but 'Suicide' Isn't the Right Word

Esme Deprez writes of her father's battle with ALS, and his decision to use a new Maine law

(Newser) - In April of this year, 75-year-old Ron Deprez became the second person to use Maine's new assisted-suicide law to end his life. That's the short version. But in a lengthy and moving piece for Bloomberg , daughter Esme Deprez fills in the details about her father's life and...

Germany Overturns Its Assisted Suicide Law

Court finds ban on professionally assisted suicide is unconstitutional

(Newser) - "Commercial promotion of assisted suicide" is no longer a criminal offense in Germany. The country's top court on Wednesday determined that a 2015 law that banned professionally assisted suicide is unconstitutional. Judge Andreas Vosskuhle found that the ban violates a citizen's right to determine their own death...

Canada Pushes for Big Change to Assisted-Death Law

Country looking to expand eligibility to include those who aren't in immediate risk of dying

(Newser) - Canada's assisted-death law could soon apply to people who aren't in immediate risk of dying. The proposed changes announced Monday would "remove the requirement for a person's natural death to be reasonably foreseeable," Justice Minister David Lametti said, per Reuters . People suffering solely from mental...

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