Article first appeared in Swiss Info, September 11th 2025
Assisted suicide will not be regulated in Switzerland. On Thursday, the Senate rejected a motion from its Legal Affairs Committee by 22 votes to 16 with eight abstentions. However, it does want assisted suicide cases to be recorded statistically.
The two motions were prompted by the first use of the Sarco suicide capsule in Switzerland. Senator Heidi Z’graggen of the Centre Party explained on behalf of the committee that hearings had revealed gaps in legal certainty, transparency and the protection of vulnerable people.
Interior Minister Elisabeth Baum-Schneider opposed the proposals. The current penal code was sufficient, according to her. Assisted suicide is prohibited except for altruistic motives. Senator Daniel Jositsch of the Social Democrats said that a legal framework had already been discussed ten years ago and had been dropped. Philosophical and legal reasons had been the deciding factor.
By contrast, the Senate approved the motion in favour of monitoring the use of assisted suicide by 24 votes to seven with three abstentions. The Senate felt that recording the figures was important.
Switzerland