NRW-OVG negotiates dispute over access to deadly drug
An empty bottle labeled “Sodium Pentobarbital” in the Augustiner Museum in Freiburg. Photo: Patrick Seeger/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Everyone has a fundamental right to a self-determined death. But how should those affected implement their wish? The top NRW administrative judges will deal with this question on Wednesday.
The Higher Administrative Court for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is hearing the dispute over access to a deadly drug on Wednesday (1 p.m.).
The plaintiffs from Rhineland-Palatinate, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg are suing the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) in Bonn, which has rejected their request. Due to the seat in North Rhine-Westphalia, the OVG in Münster is responsible. Those affected want to kill themselves with the drug.
The oldest plaintiff is 77 years old, comes from the district of Lüneburg and suffers from cancer as well as heart disease. A plaintiff from the Palatinate is 51 years old and has been suffering from multiple sclerosis for over 20 years. The man is paralyzed from below the shoulder and requires 24-hour care. One plaintiff comes from the district of Schwäbisch Hall. The 68-year-old has cancer and other multiple diseases.
fundamental right to a self-determined death
In 2020, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that everyone has a fundamental right to a self-determined death. The plaintiffs are asking to be allowed to kill themselves with the anesthetic sodium pentobarbital. They are asking the authorities to allow them to buy the drug. According to their statement, they cannot find a doctor who will issue them with a drug to take to the pharmacy.
The drug is used in the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland as part of the euthanasia permitted there. In the first instance, the Cologne administrative court dismissed the complaints after an intermediate step to the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. The OVG must now decide whether the refusal of this request by the Federal Institute with reference to the Narcotics Act is legal. The Higher Administrative Court intends to announce a verdict after the oral hearing this Wednesday.
According to information from the Federal Government from September 2021, a total of 223 applications for a permit have been received by the Federal Institute in Bonn since 2017. As a result, no case was approved. 144 applications were rejected. In 54 cases there were objections by the applicants, which in turn were rejected. Some applications have been suspended, others are still pending. The rejection by the Federal Institute was preceded by a non-application decree for the decision of the Federal Administrative Court of the then Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU).