Israelinternationalnews.com reports about a dramatic increase of Israelis having signed forms requesting permission to put an end to their own lives, 12.000 over just 740 who did so in 2013.
Currently, euthanasia, also dubbed “mercy killings”, in which a doctor or other agent puts an end to the life of a patient – usually an elderly person with a terminal disease that is causing them great suffering – are illegal in Israel. If and when those killings become legal, said the Lilach
organization, which is advocating for a mercy killing law, the individuals who filed the requests will be “first in line” for such mercy killings.
Jewish law forbids mercy killing, and religious parties opposed the 2005 law. Lilach is seeking a new law that would allow individuals to decide in advance, when their faculties are intact, that they be put to death under specific circumstances.
According to Bina Dibon, head of Lilach, “it is very clear that there is a lot more awareness today on the matter of dying with dignity. A new law would restore the autonomy and dignity of terminally ill people, giving them control over their own bodies. We hope the Knesset will pass such a law.”
(source http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/186775#.VGtnC8lAQtR)