Discussion Has anyone here tried to get approved for assisted suicide in Switzerland?

[Stepheng7287]

I'm a 24 year old male and am planning on taking my life via exit bag and Nitrogen gas, however, I'm terrified of something going wrong outside of my control and waking up paralyzed in the hospital. I know you can't really screw up if you've read everything correctly about the process and set everything up correctly but the thought is still there in the back of my mind.
I decided to look up assisted suicide in Switzerland to see how impossible it is to get approved but it's not very clear on the specific paperwork you need (atleast on the site I was on) and I was hoping maybe you guys could enlighten me?

I know you can't just say "I'm depressed and want to die" and get approved just like that but I do have a very mild case of Crohn's disease and I'm thinking maybe I could milk this and make it out to be worse than it is? It's not like we have different names for levels of the disease. You either have it or you don't and it affects everyone different. If I have to get a letter of approval from my doctor it won't work but if all I had to do was show medication/procedure receipts that could probably work? I don't know.

Have any of you guys gone down this road yourselves? If so, how far have you gotten in the process? Thanks!

 

[Nanami]

You have to provide several letters from doctors and psychiatrists.

 

[Buffy5120]

You have to provide several letters from doctors and psychiatrists.

Thats only if you have mental illness not physical illness

 

[Breadbfra]

I looked up the website of DIGNITAS which is the main assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland.

You should provide several letters which are going to prove that
- you're terminally ill
- you have a specifically chronic pathology (mental/physic)
They also say "if tou're tired of life" but I highly doubt of that
Plus they require tou to explain your life experiences, qhat have you gone through etc meaning you have to undergo many psychiatric and medical meetings before being accepted.
Netherlands one year ago accepted a severely ill girl with BPD, PTSD and some sort of schizophrenia

 

[Nanami]

Thats only if you have mental illness not physical illness

Even if you are suffering from physical illness you have to prove you are of sound judgement, requiring a psychiatric evaluation.
On top of that you are to provide several up to date medical reports of your physical condition.

You are free to look this up yourself if you don't believe me.

 

[Buffy5120]

Psychiatric evaluation by dignitas or your own doctors? I believe u.

 

[Nanami]

Psychiatric evaluation by dignitas or your own doctors? I believe u.

Both. You have to submit all the proof before they even consider assisting you. Then medical personnel of their own will go through your stuff and if they think you're a candidate you will be interviewed by them yourself too.

 

[Mellowmood]

- well first if you're not swiss or havent lived in switzerland for a long period of time you cant.
- its super expensive
- it has an extremly long waiting list
- once you start the process it still take a long time before they finally let you die

 

[Buffy5120]

I had the absolutely miserable experience of trying to communicate with them online and it was a nightmare.
I qualify. I have illnesses that make me qualify. But the amount of paperwork and documentation is
something I cannot get. It all has to be within 6 months and include a psychiatrist writing you are sane but they won't say exactly what they mean and how do you ask a shrink to write you a note saying you are sane and explain you want to kill yourself, and then he by law has to commit you for at least 3 days to a mental ward?

Oh and your birth certificate has to have been issued in the last six months. I can't get that due to the
place I was born being screwed up. We are not allowed into any other countries now except Mexico due to our high covid rate.

What illnesses did you tell them you have? & cant you just forge the psychiatrist note like how on earth would they possbile know if its real or not its not like they will call your doctor or something right?

 

[Deleted member 19654]

It's a long and arduous process applying for euthanasia in Switzerland. There's a lot of paperwork involved, medical reports, psych evaluation etc. It's expensive too but they do have a hardship fund to help you out if you can't afford it. Of course, it's definitely not easy to get.

@Buffy5120 they would definitely do very thorough checks to see if you're eligible for euthanasia. It's not just a simple note, it's a lot of official medical records that you need to supply.