The latest in Switzerland

Zurich voters reject ban on "suicide tourism"

2011-05-16T09:30:51Z

ZURICH (Reuters) - Voters in Zurich overwhelmingly 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 nea...

Patrick Stewart backs right to assisted death

2011-04-17T07:30:14Z

Actor Sir Patrick Stewart has declared his wish to be allowed an assisted death.

Stewart, best known for his role as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek, spoke to The Sunday Times about his decision to become a patron of Dignity in Dying, which campaigns for a ch...

Daniel James Suicide

2010-11-30T13:50:23Z

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Planning Your End Of Life Care

2010-11-03T00:12:22Z

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Swiss gov't rejects call to ban assisted suicide

2010-09-17T05:30:11Z

Swiss government plans to restrict, not ban, work of assisted suicide groups like Dignitas

The Swiss government has rejected calls to ban assisted suicide groups such as Dignitas but will propose new rules to restrict their work.

Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland provided the helper doesn't personally benefit from a patient's death.

The government says a majority of the groups an...

Hugh Grant is 'dreading' turning 50

2010-11-02T13:24:20Z

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Dozens of urns with human ashes in Lake Zurich

2010-04-28T11:30:33Z

Dozens of urns with human ashes found in Lake Zurich, ties to assisted suicide group pondered

Swiss authorities are investigating a macabre discovery: Dozens of urns filled with human ashes stuck in the mud beneath Lake Zurich.

The surprise find — by divers searching for their boat's lost sunroof — is drawing attention to some uncomfortable aspects of assisted suicide, a practice permitted in Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said in comments published Thursday.

But those who respond to a request from a loved one to help in their suicide are unlikely to face prosecution, Keir Starmer wrote in the Times, trailing new g...

Mercy killers could face murder charges: DPP

2010-04-16T06:57:52Z

Mercy killers will face the full force of the law under new guidelines on assisted suicide, the head of the Crown Prosecution Service said in comments published Thursday.

But those who respond to a request from a loved one to help in their suicide are unlikely to face prosecution, Keir Starmer wrote in the Times, trailing new guidance he will unveil later in the day.

"Assisted suicide i...

Swiss to tighten assisted suicide rules, consider ban

2010-04-16T09:34:44Z

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland is looking to change the law on assisted suicide to make sure it is only used as a last resort by the terminally ill, and to limit so-called "death tourism," the government said on Wednesday.

"We have no interest, as a country, in being attractive for suicide tourism," Joan Downes decided to die together.

Downes — Sir Edward since he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 — and his wife ended their lives last...

Switzerland offers legal assisted suicide

2010-04-16T11:20:53Z

Switzerland offers legal assisted suicide for the terminally ill from other countries

Some countries allow incurably sick residents to receive medical help to end their lives, but Switzerland also permits foreigners to travel there for assisted suicide. Every year more than 100 terminally ill people from countries that ban the practice travel to Switzerland for assisted suicide.

They typically follow thes...

What is Your View on Assisted Suicide?

2010-10-22T07:33:25Z

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1 in 3 GPs would help terminally ill die

2010-10-21T10:35:42Z

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Couple die at Swiss suicide clinic

2010-04-16T16:12:06Z

An elderly British couple suffering from terminal cancer have ended their lives at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland.

The couple, from Bath, both died at the Dignitas clinic in Zurich on February 27, their family said.

Peter Duff, 80, had colon and liver cancer, and his 70-year-old wife, Penelope, had been suffering from a rare form of the disease, gastrointestinal stroma...

Majority back assisted suicides

2010-10-21T10:29:19Z

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Assisted suicide film stokes right to die debate in Britain

2010-04-16T13:53:30Z

A documentary showing a terminally-ill man ending his own life at a Swiss clinic was telecast in Britain on Wednesday, reigniting a debate about assisted suicide.

Craig Ewert, 59, a former university lecturer from the United States, suffered from motor neurone disease and chose to end his life rather than endure ...

MPs should use free parliamentary time to resolve assisted suicide issue

2010-04-16T12:37:30Z

Would you want to control the manner of your own death if you had acquired a disease for which there was no cure and faced a protracted, painful end? It's trickier than you may think.

Judges yesterday knocked back Debbie Purdy's application to the high court seeking to protect her husband from prosecution if he ever helped her on her final journey...

Denial of the right to die is sheer religious primitivism

2010-04-16T16:25:49Z

The Crown Prosecution Service is considering, yet again, whether to prosecute and possibly imprison otherwise law-abiding Britons for helping their loved ones to die. The parents of Daniel James, a 23-year-old rugby player crippled in a training accident, last month accompanied him to the Dignitas clinic in England as a teenager has committed suicide in a Swiss euthanasia clinic after having become paralysed from the chest down in a training accident. Police are investigating.

Nuneaton rugby club hooker Daniel James felt his body had become a "prison" and lived in "fear and loathing" of his daily life, his parents said last night, havin...

Police investigate assisted suicide of paralysed rugby player

2010-04-16T16:31:26Z

A 23-year-old rugby player who represented England as a teenager has committed suicide in a Swiss euthanasia clinic after he was paralysed from the chest down in a training accident. Police are investigating.

Daniel James, who was a hooker with Nuneaton rugby club, felt his body had become a "prison" and lived in "fear and loathing" of his daily life, his parents said...

Police probe 'assisted suicide ' of rugby player

2010-10-21T10:25:25Z

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World Juniors Canada Switzerland Hockey

2011-01-02T15:31:38Z

Team Canada forward Casey Cizikas (11) celebrates his goal in front of Team Switzerland goaltender Benjamin Conz (1) and defenseman Dario Trutmann (17) during the second period of an IIHF World Junior Championship hockey game ...

Abu Dhabi World Tennis Championships

2011-01-01T09:30:16Z

An Emirati fan poses for a photo during Rafael Nadal from Spain and Roger Federer from Switzerland final match of Mubadala World Tennis Championships in St. Petersburg's team captain Maxim Sushinskiy, left, celebrates with the trophy after winning their final game of the 84rd Spengler Cup ice hockey tournament against Team Canada, in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. (AP Photo/Keystone,

Ducks Kings Hockey

2010-12-26T21:01:15Z

Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller, right, of Switzerland, cradles the puck above his blocker as Ducks center Kyle Chipchura, center, holds off Los Angeles Kings Switzerland's Roger Federer wiping his face during his semifinal match against France's Gael Monfils at the Paris Tennis Masters tournament. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, FIle)