Thank God that the experienced geriatric psychiatrist Dr Raimund Klesse from Chur and president of the Swiss Hippocratic Community participated in the TV discussion “Club” on SRF regarding: “Sarco-assisted suicide for all?”.
Klesse mentions the good suicide prevention for younger people in Switzerland. However, he also argued with professionally and humanely convincing manner that in comparison to Germany and Austria, there is a sharp increase in suicides with elderly people in this country. In our country, there is a veritable suicide epidemic due to assisted suicide! The lasting impression remains, that the liberal practice of assisted suicides in the Mother Helvetia country is out of control.
One learned a bit about the “Werther-effect” (copycat effect) due to continual media reports about suicide. Therefore Klesse challenged rightly and directed the media : “this hype about assisted suicides muss be stopped!” How is it actually possible, that people with such problems regarding life are always on their own in the 21st century? That they due to questionable business models are being persuaded and supported to end their lives? It would be more humane to help them confront their life problems. As privileged people, we are called upon to, use our hearts and minds, healthy compassion and sense responsibility to better perceive and to provide help for one another in the interpersonal humane areas. The medical ethicist Professor Giovanni Maio has raised the question “Are we not overwhelmed that a person wants to go in such a way?” I personally can only answer: Yes, it overwhelms me. And yes, I am ashamed for such a commercial-program on TV for assisted suicide and its technical realisation. It would be more reasonable to make the viewers more familiar with psychological support for people with emotional distress.
Lic. phil. Elisabeth Frey, Psychologist, Hüttikon, Switzerland
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