this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2025
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I joined dignitas recently, and was told they can even offer free assisted suicide if someone is very poor, but they have to pay their own travel costs. So I didn't do anything about it for a while. But over the past few days I thought I can at least get the ball rolling, if I can get accepted then as soon as I can get some money I can go. Also my medical conditions seem to be deteriorating and I have been feeling worse than usual. So I decided to go ahead with the matter, only to find that the documentation they need is insane. I thought it would be a simple issue of providing copies of medical records, but no. Aside from needing a ton of medical records, past and present, they want a ridiculous amount of identity verification. I don't have a passport right now but if I got one, wouldn't that be enough? NO! On top of that they want a declaration of your identity signed by a notary, your parents' birth certificates and all kinds of other crap. My father was from Turkey, they don't even have birth certificates in Turkey. If you're unmarried you even need to swear a statutory declaration before a commisioner of oaths, that you've never been married and this apparently costs £100. You also have to provide 4 types of other ID like bank statements, utility bills etc. I can get bank statements, but bills? I pay all that included in my rent. (Or at least I do when I'm in receipt of benefits and actually paying rent.) I guess I could provide a bank statement and a letter from the DWP. I have a government-issued bus pass, maybe that would do too? Don't know what else I can get.
Now, there are several other suicide clinics in Switzerland that don't require so much documentation. However, unlike dignitas, as far as I'm aware they don't offer discounted or free suicide. I have emailed them to check and I'm waiting for a response.
But the other thing with dignitas is they are quite insistent that you bring a relative along to show their support for what you are doing. This is because when people get assisted suicide against their family's wishes, the family complain in the media and it makes dignitas look bad and turns people against legal assisted suicide. But what if you have no family? There is so much to find out about all the hoops I'd have to jump through and they are slow to respond. Why is everything always so difficult?
god that's crazy. i guess i shouldn't be surprised that there's additional requirements that stop most people from being able to use it, but sigh. Having to take a family member with you is absolutely insane.
Even having help with a more dignified end turns out to belong to the privileged. I get that they want to be sure, but it just seems like added cruelty. I hope in the interim you can get your doctor's letter and your benefits come through.
I think the main problem with assisted suicide is that the providers are afraid of allowing someone to die who could be saved/treated to become well again. Furthermore, I think they need their assurances that you are of clear mind when you're making that decision. A family member of any sort is probably one of the safest assurances they can get, though I think any good friend would do. Still, the birth certificates of your parents? How tf are you supposed to get all this stuff??
I didn't think it'd be easy to get but yeah, killing yourself like this isn't easy, and while I agree it's ridiculously expensive, I do think there should be a lot of hurdles to deter people from choosing death lightly. The relatives thing is beyond me, however. I hope you find a way that works out for you.
I don't think there should be a lot of hurdles, it's a matter of human freedom. People are outraged when abortion or gender reassignments are illegal or difficult to get. Imagine if you weren't allowed an abortion or gender reassignment unless your family agreed and showed their support.
Oh no, don't get me wrong, I agree with you on that one, and I also don't think the family thing should be a thing, but I also don't think you should be able to knock on their door and ask "Could you help me die?" and they just say yes. It should be easier, but not that easy. And while I do agree that gender reassignment as well as abortion need to be more easily accessible, I think there's a big difference between those two and assisted suicide. The former are about how you wanna live your life, the latter about how you wanna end it.
Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm just trying to explain why I disagree about hurdles in general, but not about these hurdles in particular. I think you deserve access to whatever you deem necessary, love, and you have suffered enough. I still believe that with proper healthcare treatment, you wouldn't have to be in this situation, but we both know it's not your fault it is this way. I hope this makes sense, and you don't feel offended by what I'm saying