瑞士：協助自殺禁令遭拒 仍是“自殺天堂”

Voters in Zurich overwhemingly rejected on Sunday proposed bans on assisted suicide and "suicide tourism" -- foreigners traveling to Switzerland to receive help ending their lives。

Only 15.5 percent of voters in the local referendum backed a ban on assisted suicide, while nearly 22 percent supported a ban on suicide tourism, final results showed. About 200 people commit assisted suicide each year in Zurich。

Assisted suicide has been allowed in Switzerland since 1941 if performed by a non-physician who has no vested interest in the death. Euthanasia, or "mercy killing," is legal only in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the US state of Oregon。

Many terminally ill foreigners -- particularly from Germany, France and Britain -- travel to Switzerland to commit suicide, taking advantage of the Swiss rules which are among the world's most liberal。

But a rise in the number of foreigners seeking to end their lives in Switzerland, and a study showing that more and more people seeking assisted suicides in the country do not suffer from a terminal illness, have provoked heated debate。

The Swiss Evangelical People's Party, which had supported the bans, said it regretted the outcome but was pleased it had prompted so much discussion。

"We now need to make sure that assisted suicide isn't just extended without limit and also that suicide tourism with foreigners is critically monitored," it said in a statement。

The Swiss government has said it is looking to change the law on assisted suicide to make sure it was used only as a last resort by the terminally ill, and to limit "suicide tourism."

Right-to-die group Exit has agreed rules to govern assisted suicide with prosecutors in Zurich in the hope they might eventually form the basis of national regulation。

Foreigners are not explicitly excluded under the new rules, but a Swiss doctor who prescribes the deadly anesthetic must have met the person twice over a period of time to be sure of their wishes。上週日，蘇黎世選民以壓倒性多數投票否決了禁止協助自殺和“自殺旅遊”的議案。不少外國遊客前往瑞士“自殺旅遊”，尋求幫助結束生命。

此次地方投票結果顯示，僅有15.5%的選民支持協助自殺禁令，近22%的選民支持終止自殺旅遊。每年大約有200人在蘇黎世選擇協助自殺。

自1941年以來，協助自殺在瑞士就已合法化，但協助者不能是醫生，而且不能從病人的死亡中獲利。“安樂死”目前僅在荷蘭、盧森堡、比利時、以及美國俄勒岡州合法。

很多晚期患者利用瑞士的這一法規前來協助自殺，尤以來自德國、法國、英國的遊客居多。瑞士擁有全球最自由的法規。

但前往瑞士協助自殺的外國人越來越多，而且有調查表明，希望在瑞士協助自殺的人中，並未患有晚期疾病的人數也在增多，這引起了熱議。

支持此項禁令的瑞士人民福音黨對投票結果表示遺憾，但很高興看到這激起了熱烈討論。

該黨在聲明中稱：“我們需要確保協助自殺沒有無限制增多，以及外國人自殺旅遊受到嚴格監管。”

瑞士政府稱，正尋求修改協助自殺的法律，以確保協助自殺僅在疾病晚期時不得以而爲之，另外還要限制“自殺旅遊”。

協助自殺組織“解脫”已同意了由蘇黎世檢察官管控協助自殺行爲的條例，並希望他們最終可以出臺全國條例。

按照新法規，外國人不會被直接排除在外。但提供致命麻醉劑的瑞士醫生必須在規定的時間段內探望要求自殺者兩次，以確定其自殺願望。