Is it right that the Dignitas clinic charges a fee for assisting people to die?

Answer 1

Yes, Dignitas, a private organization, charges its members fees for providing legal assisted suicide services. For a long article about Dignitas, see the Wikipedia main page.

In Switzerland, assisting a suicide is not illegal so long as the person doing the assisting has no selfish motive in doing so.

Neither Swiss citizenship or residency is required to become a member of Dignitas. They have members from over fifty countries, and have facilitated assisted suicides of somewhat over 1,000 people since their founding in 1998.

Dignitas is a private organization. For exact fees, contact Dignitas directly. The cost of an assisted suicide there can run as much as US $10,000, not including travel expenses. This amount varies according to the circumstances of each individual, but generally includes the following fees:

1. An initial membership application fee. (Dignitas does NOT accept "walk-in" patients. Membership and physician evaluations are required.)
2. An annual membership fee.
3. A fee for a Swiss physician to evaluate the member's medical records when the member decides that they want to apply for an assisted suicide.
4. If approved, the member flies to Zurich, Switzerland, for a second, face-to-face interview with a second Swiss physician. This is to ensure that the person is of sound mind and is not under coercion. A separate fee is charged by the physician.
5. If the second physician agrees that the grounds for an assisted suicide are rational, approval is given, and a date and time is set for the "accompaniment," as it is called.
6. A fee is charged for the accompaniment, which includes the cost of the lethal medication, the guidance, information, and presence until after death of a Dignitas staff member, the legal paperwork involved, use of the Dignitas "apartment" where the death takes place, and the time necessary to call the police and coroner to notify them of the death. The death is videorecorded so that the police and coroner can see that the member died by his or her own hand, and was neither coerced nor had the drug administered to him/her. The member, and the member only, must drink the drug, unassisted.
7. The member or his/her family may request either cremation (for which the crematorium charges a fee), or to have the body embalmed and shipped back to the member's designated place of burial. That transportation is also the responsibility of the member or his/her agent.
8. For specific information about Dignitas, including the email address and phone/fax numbers, you may visit their website. They can provide information in English, French, German, and Italian.

Please keep firmly in mind that suicide is a permanent solution to what is very often a temporary problem, and that no assisted suicide organization will assist a person who is not capable of making a rational, adult decision about this extremely serious matter.

Richard N. Côté, author of "In Search of Gentle Death: The Fight for Your Right to Death With Dignity" (to be published in 2011). Disclaimer: I have no formal affiliation or financial relationships of any kind with Dignitas. This information is based upon my book research and interviews.