Erwin Kress, Vice President of the Humanist Association of Germany, has described the result of today’s vote in the German Bundestag on draft legislation on assisted suicide as a “blow to self-determination at the end of life, the will of the majority of citizens and the freedom of conscience and legal certainty of doctors”. “With the new law, all people in Germany who do not want to endure to the bitter end in the worst case will be worse off than before. It would have been prudent and humane to retain the current impunity,” said Kress.
Following the debate on Friday, 360 MPs voted in favor of the draft by the parliamentary group led by Michael Brand (CDU) and Kerstin Griese (SPD). 233 MPs voted against the motion and 9 MPs abstained. This means that a clear majority in the Bundestag has now decided against what the majority of the population wants: to be able to receive help if continuing to live is no longer bearable. “In the USA, France, England and Canada, the trend is towards allowing people to receive medical assisted suicide. In Germany, on the other hand, parliament has decided to put a stop to the right to self-determination at the end of life,” Kress continues. “Catholic moral theologians and Protestant social ethicists have unfortunately prevailed. In their wake, members of parliament have gathered who must be accused of arrogance and incompetence. Arrogantly, they think they know better what old and sick people have to endure at the end of their lives. They are incapable of regulating the supposedly necessary protection against the pressure to commit suicide in any other way than by banning organized assistance,” said Erwin Kress. Erwin Kress expressed words of appreciation and praise for the more than 200 MPs who voted against a new law to criminalize assisted suicide. “Despite the highly regrettable result of today’s vote, many members of the German Bundestag have shown that they have seriously explored the issues raised and rejected an ideological, religious and paternalistic policy of incapacitation. I am very grateful for this strong signal,” said Kress. However, what the Bundestag has decided as a result is also extremely questionable from a constitutional point of view. This applies not only to the abolition of the principle that assistance in non-punishable acts cannot be punishable. The freedom of conscience of doctors and the right to self-determination were also inadmissibly restricted. “We don’t know whether Karlsruhe will overturn this high-handedness of the majority of MPs. But in the long term, it will not be possible to stop the social development towards more personal responsibility, even at the end of life,” emphasized Kress. He concluded by emphasizing that the Humanist Association would continue to offer support to citizens and doctors who have to deal with such conflict situations. “Even after this worsened legislation passed by the German Bundestag today, we will not leave people alone with their specific needs. Despite today’s grotesque regulation, it is our humanistic duty to strengthen our existing counseling and support services. We will fight to ensure that the protection of life and the duty to live are no longer equated,” says Erwin Kress.
