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In 2020, the German Federal Constitutional Court affirmed the individual’s right to die independently, overturning the previous ban on organized euthanasia. Since then, a debate has been going on in Germany about the exact interpretation of this new fundamental right.
The court rejects the MS patient’s request
People like Harald Mayer (52) especially suffer from this. The former firefighter has advanced multiple sclerosis and wants to die with the help of the drug sodium pentobarbital. But according to ‘Bild’, the highest German judges at the Federal Administrative Court (BVG) in Leipzig rejected his request on Tuesday.
Sodium pentobarbital (NAP) has long been used in Switzerland almost exclusively in organized suicide assistance to enable someone who wants to die to commit suicide without risk or pain. About two to five minutes after taking a lethal dose of 15 grams, the person falls asleep. The NAP then causes paralysis of the respiratory center, which subsequently leads to death from respiratory arrest.
In Germany, prescribing a drug for the purpose of suicide has been theoretically allowed since a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court on February 26, 2020. But so far, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices has rejected all purchase requests on the instructions of the then Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU).
Sodium pentobarbital (NAP) has long been used in Switzerland almost exclusively in organized suicide assistance to enable someone who wants to die to commit suicide without risk or pain. About two to five minutes after taking a lethal dose of 15 grams, the person falls asleep. The NAP then causes paralysis of the respiratory center, which subsequently leads to death from respiratory arrest.
In Germany, prescribing a drug for the purpose of suicide has been theoretically allowed since a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court on February 26, 2020. But so far, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices has rejected all purchase requests on the instructions of the then Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU).
Since there are other ways to end a person’s life in a self-determined manner – but with medical assistance – the ban on sodium pentobarbital for suicide does not contradict the right to a self-determined death, the ruling said. Instead, the blanket ban pursues the “legitimate purpose of preventing the misuse and abuse of lethal narcotic drugs.”
With a doctor and equipment instead of the family
With the alternative used in Germany, a doctor places an IV and the patient can start the IV himself. Because of Mayer’s paralysis, he would need special equipment for this. But he doesn’t want that. “I want to do this independently, with my family,” he said during the BVG case hearing at the end of October.
Mayer’s fight for self-determined death began in 2017, when he and six other seriously ill people applied to purchase a lethal dose of sodium pentobarbital and store it in their home until the time was right for them. But the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices rejected the applications.
“This is a black day for all people who want to commit suicide”
Mayer’s comrades and he sued. But during the October hearing, Mayer sat alone in the courtroom on Tuesday. Five of the original seven plaintiffs have now died, two of them by suicide.
The only other survivor is a 79-year-old cancer patient who could no longer travel to Leipzig for the trial, said Robert Rossbruch, the group’s lawyer. He has clear words about the verdict: “This is a black day for all suicidal people who want to commit suicide in Germany with a drug suitable for suicide.”
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
