Is it permissible to help people end their own lives? Yes, say three authors from the Humanist Association – but with reservations. Qualified suicide counseling should clarify alternatives and prevent suicides.
Against the background of an upcoming Bundestag debate on a ban on assisted suicide, representatives of the Humanist Association of Germany have formulated their own positions on assisted suicide. While a majority in the parliamentary groups of the governing parties CDU/CSU and SPD appear to be in favour of a strict ban on all forms of assisted suicide, the distinguished authors of the recently published brochure “Am Ende des Weges” (At the end of the road) argue for a removal of the taboo on assisted suicide. “Human autonomy is a valuable asset,” says Michael Bauer, Chairman of the Bavarian Humanist Association, who wrote the brochure together with psychologist Gita Neumann and Erwin Kress, the association’s spokesperson on autonomy at the end of life. “If a person expresses a self-conceived, justified and well-founded wish for assisted suicide and one can reconcile it with one’s own conscience, one should not refuse this support.” As a rule, these are people with serious illnesses and great pain. In order to show people who are willing to die alternatives, they should be offered regulated and qualified suicide counseling. The authors of the Humanist Association see the brochure as a basis for what they hope will be the broadest possible social discussion. They suggest that in future, trained professionals from psychology, social work, pastoral care and other fields should talk to people about their suicidal intentions in an open-ended way. Because: “It can be assumed that with good, open-ended counseling, the majority of people with suicidal thoughts or wishes will abandon their plans.” Such counseling needs to be created. Such a removal of taboos does not affect the urgently needed expansion of palliative and hospice care. “It is not in contradiction to assisted suicide, nor is it a substitute for it,” emphasizes Gita Neumann.
About the authors
Gita Neumann, consultant on end-of-life care and head of the Federal Central Office for Advance Directives; Erwin Kress, Vice President of the Federal Association and spokesperson on patient autonomy at the end of life; Michael Bauer, board member of the Bavarian Humanist Association and certified consultant for ethics in medicine. The authors will be happy to answer any questions you may have. E-mail: info@humanismus.de or telephone: 030 613 904 61.
Also published on this topic
Gita Neumann (ed.): Assisted suicide as a challenge – medical ethics and the myth of criminal liability. The anthology contains medical, ethical and psychological positions from a practical point of view as well as personal statements by those affected on the controversial subject of assisted suicide, combined with legal clarifications and humanistic approaches to solutions. Publication series of the Humanist Academy Berlin, Volume 5, Alibri Verlag, Aschaffenburg 2012, 243 pages, illustrations, paperback, 20 euros, ISBN 978-3-86569-084-5
