In brief
Ludwig Minelli, founder of the Dignitas organization, passed away by assisted suicide shortly before his 93rd birthday. Minelli was a prominent advocate for the right to die, establishing Dignitas in 1998 to assist individuals in their quest for a dignified end. His contributions toward legal and ethical discussions surrounding assisted dying have influenced similar laws in countries like Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Dignitas aims to continue his mission promoting self-determination and human rights at the end of life.
The founder of the Swiss right-to-die organization Dignitas has died by assisted suicide, the group says.
Ludwig Minelli, 92, died on Saturday, days before his 93rd birthday.
The group paid tribute to Minelli, saying he had led a life for freedom of choice, self-determination, and human rights.
Minelli founded Dignitas in 1998, and since then it has helped thousands of people to die.
In recent decades, some countries have shifted their stance on assisted dying, with Australia, Canada, and New Zealand introducing laws. The UK House of Lords is currently debating an assisted dying bill.
Critics of the legalization say it could see disabled and vulnerable people being coerced into ending their lives.
Minelli began his career as a journalist, working as a correspondent for the German news magazine Der Spiegel, before studying law and taking an interest in human rights.
Across his life, he campaigned passionately for the right to die, giving Dignitas the slogan dignity in life, dignity in death.
In a 2010 interview with the BBC, he stated: I am persuaded that we have to struggle in order to implement the last human right in our societies. And the last human right is the right to make a decision on one's own end, and the possibility to have this end without risk and without pain.
Minelli founded Dignitas after splitting from the older Swiss assisted dying organization, Exit, because he felt its rules were too restrictive.
The group became world-famous because it offers assisted suicide to non-Swiss citizens who travel to Switzerland because assisted dying is not allowed in their own countries.
Within Switzerland, he was sometimes criticized for an alleged lack of transparency over Dignitas’s financial dealings and for offering assisted dying to those who were not terminally ill.
He faced numerous legal challenges, making multiple successful appeals to the Swiss Supreme Court.
Dignitas stated that Minelli's work has had a lasting influence, referencing a 2011 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which confirmed the right of a person capable of judgment to decide on their end-of-life preferences.
While euthanasia—administering a lethal drug by a physician to end life intentionally to relieve suffering—is illegal in Switzerland, assisted dying has been permitted since 1942 under strict conditions, including a stipulation that there is no profit motive involved, and that the individual wishing to die is of sound mind.
Dignitas indicated it would continue its work in the spirit of Minelli, advocating for self-determination and freedom of choice in life and death.
