faq
Today, several members of the Bundestag are presenting their draft legislation on euthanasia. What do the different drafts look like and what criticism is there? An overview.
the initial situation
In 2020, the Federal Constitutional Court overturned a ban on commercial euthanasia that had existed since 2015 because it violated the individual’s right to self-determined dying. “Business-like” has nothing to do with money, but means “designed to be repeated”.
Now the so-called assisted suicide is to be newly regulated by law. There are various draft laws by non-party groups of deputies. The groups around the Green politician Renate Künast and the FDP politician Katrin Helling-Plahr want to present their draft law at a press conference today.
According to media reports, the two groups have merged their designs and developed a joint concept from them. In doing so, they want to improve the chances of a more liberal regulation compared to a draft law by the group of deputies led by SPD politician Lars Castellucci.
What does the draft of the group around Castellucci envisage?
The draft law by the Castellucci group wants to regulate assisted suicide through criminal law and provides for a general ban on commercial, i.e. organized, euthanasia. Violations can be punished with a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine.
Commercial euthanasia should not be unlawful if certain counseling obligations and waiting times have been met. In concrete terms, those who wish to die should usually undergo at least two examinations by specialists in psychiatry or psychotherapy and at least one further consultation. In addition, a ban on advertising for suicide assistance is planned. According to reports from the editorial network Germany, this bill was signed by 111 MPs.
What is in the draft of the group around Helling-Plahr?
The draft law by the group around FDP politician Helling-Plahr provides for the establishment of a network of state-approved counseling centers that are intended to inform those who are willing to die in an open-ended manner. The central point is an amendment to the Narcotics Act. Doctors should be allowed to prescribe medication for suicide no earlier than ten days after the consultation.
It should also be stipulated that third parties have the right to provide assistance to people who commit suicide and to accompany them until death occurs. In addition, no one should be prohibited from providing this assistance or support on the basis of his or her professional affiliation. This draft has apparently had 69 supporters so far.
What is the draft of the group around Künast?
The group around the Green politician Renate Künast has proposed a “law to protect the right to self-determined dying”. A distinction is made between those who are willing to die in a medical emergency and those who are not in a medical emergency.
In the first case, doctors should be responsible for both the prescription and the advice. In the case of those who wish to die who are not in a medical emergency, those affected should submit an application to an office to be determined by the respective state. Another prerequisite is, among other things, two consultations in a state-approved consultation center.
The draft also provides for regulations for the work of aid providers, for example for the delivery of deadly drugs. A license is required for service providers. In addition, anyone who provides incorrect or incomplete information in order to obtain a certificate for dispensing the narcotics for others or for misuse for criminal offenses is to be punished with imprisonment for up to five years. Among other things, “grossly offensive” advertising should be punishable as an administrative offence. Apparently 45 supporters have signed this draft so far.
What criticism is there?
Patient advocates warn against a legal regulation for organized euthanasia. The self-determination of those who wish to die and protection against heteronomy are far too complex to be squeezed into paragraphs, said Eugen Brysch, the board member of the Patient Protection Foundation, to the newspapers of the Funke media group. “In addition, there is a risk that the 10,000 so-called hard suicides will be joined by at least 20,000 organized suicides every year,” warned Brysch. He also complained that psychotherapy and dignified care or therapy were “still unattainable for many terminally ill, full of life, mentally ill or depressed people”. “Suicide prevention is far too often neglected.”
The German Society for Human Dying (DGHS), on the other hand, called on the Bundestag to make it possible by law to dispense medication to adults who are willing to die without any mandatory advice. “What is actually important for people is that they can rely on an emergency exit,” said DGHS President Robert Roßbruch to the editorial network Germany. Above all, the Narcotics Act must be changed for this. At the same time, Roßbruch proposed more counseling services on a voluntary basis.