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It is a very emotional topic that will soon be loudly discussed in the Canton of Zurich. An initiative submitted last Wednesday requires all elderly and nursing homes in the canton to allow euthanasia. Until now, private homes have been able to refuse this.
The euthanasia organizations Exit and Dignitas support the initiative. “Everyone should have the right to die wherever they want,” said exit media spokeswoman Danièle Bersier. “Those affected live in a retirement home. It is inhumane and a burden if you have to leave your home to die.” In addition to politicians, the initiative committee also includes celebrities such as Viktor Giacobbo (71).
One person who does not want to allow euthanasia in his nursing home is Markus Schaaf (57). The EPP Canton Council manages the Rämismühle center in Tösstal in Zurich. In general, he is not against assisted dying. But: “The initiative is coercion.”
Nursing homes should be able to decide for themselves whether to allow assisted suicide or not, he says. “There are employees and residents who consciously choose a place where they know for sure that assisted suicide is not offered.” Psychological stress can be particularly high for workers during end-of-life care. This is also why they decided that they did not want euthanasia in the Rämismühle center. In other houses, religious reasons would play a role.
Schaaf has been house director for 27 years. During this time, no one had expressed a specific wish for euthanasia. But he promises: “If the initiative goes ahead, we will of course comply with the law, but I do not expect anything to change for us.”
Only twenty houses were affected
But assisted suicide is already possible in more than 90 percent of retirement homes in Zurich. “The supply is large enough,” says Schaaf. According to a study by the trade association Artiset Zurich, reported by the “Tages-Anzeiger”, only about twenty households would have to change their practices if the initiative were to go ahead. Exitmedia spokeswoman Bersier does not accept this: “When looking for a place in a retirement home, you are often limited to the location. The choice is limited, especially in smaller villages.”
Exit writes that last year they accompanied 1,125 members to their death. “Of these, 856 are in a private home and 209 in a retirement or nursing home.” For the smaller Dignitas there are “one to two per year”.
In Switzerland, the cantonal spirit prevails when it comes to euthanasia in retirement homes. For example, last year the canton of Valais agreed to a scheme similar to that envisaged in the initiative, as did the district administrator in the canton of Nidwalden. In cantons such as Bern, Lucerne and Thurgau, the homes can decide for themselves. Yet Exit is not planning any initiatives in other cantons. “But we would welcome uniform regulations.” (brother)
Source:Blick
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