Berlin School of Economics and Law, Department 5, Berlin (while conducting research for the study: Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich); Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik Zürich (PUK), Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatic Medicine, Zurich; Psychiatrische Dienste Aargau, Windisch; Psychiatriezentrum Münsingen.
Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2019 Aug 9;116(33-34):545-552. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2019.0545.
The aim of this research project, part of a program initiated by the Swiss Federal Council, was to trace the development of organized assisted suicide in Switzerland, starting from the very first case in 1985.
Retrospective data on 3666 death records from Swiss institutes of foren- sic medicine for the years 1985 to 2014 were systematically compiled, read into a database, and for the most part quantitatively evaluated.
Alongside a marked increase in the overall number of assisted suicides since the turn of the century, the number of people traveling to Switzerland from other countries-predominantly Germany-for this purpose has risen steadily. The proportion of women was 60%, and the age at death ranged from 18 to 105 years (median 73). The largest diagnostic category was malignancy overall, neurological disease for those from other countries. The next largest category was age-related functional limitation, e.g., sensory impairment (loss of sight and hearing), the conse- quences of which were stated in writing as the reason for the wish to die. Following the Swiss Federal Court's promulgation of binding requirements in 2006, the docu- mentation contained in the death records for the subsequent period up to 2014 is much more detailed, but still not uniform or even necessarily complete.
The number of candidates for organized assisted suicide increased steadily during the study period, but no standard procedures were followed. The question therefore arises of whether further regulation or the introduction of a cen- tral registration office to maximize standardization and promote transparency would lead to improved quality assurance.
本研究项目是瑞士联邦委员会发起的计划的一部分，旨在追溯瑞士有组织协助自杀的发展，从 1985 年首例病例开始。
系统地编纂了瑞士法医研究所 1985 年至 2014 年的 3666 份死亡记录的回顾性数据，将其输入数据库，并在很大程度上进行了定量评估。
自本世纪初以来，协助自杀的总人数明显增加，从其他国家（主要是德国）前往瑞士进行这种自杀的人数也稳步上升。女性比例为 60%，死亡年龄从 18 岁到 105 岁不等（中位数为 73 岁）。最大的诊断类别是所有恶性肿瘤，而来自其他国家的人则是神经疾病。下一个最大的类别是与年龄相关的功能限制，例如感觉障碍（视力和听力丧失），并将其作为死亡愿望的原因写入书面。2006 年瑞士联邦法院颁布具有约束力的要求后，随后至 2014 年期间的死亡记录中的文件记载详细得多，但仍不统一，甚至不一定完整。
在研究期间，有组织协助自杀的候选人人数稳步增加，但没有遵循标准程序。因此，是否需要进一步规范或引入中央登记处，以最大程度地实现标准化并提高透明度，这是否会提高质量保证，这是一个值得探讨的问题。
