Ludwig Minelli, a Swiss assisted-suicide activist who had argued for the "right to die with dignity," ended his life through assisted suicide.
On the 1st, foreign media including the BBC in the United Kingdom reported that Swiss assisted-suicide activist Minelli died by assisted suicide on the 29th of last month (local time).
Minelli, a former journalist who worked as a human rights lawyer, drew attention in 1998 when he founded Dignitas, an assisted-suicide support group in Switzerland. He is known to have supported thousands of assisted suicides through Dignitas.
Assisted suicide is a form of euthanasia in which a patient self-administers drugs with a doctor's help, and Minelli argued that the right to decide the end of one's life is also a human right.
In fact, Minelli said in a 2010 BBC interview, "We must fight to realize the last human right that has not yet been realized in our society," adding, "The last human right is the right to decide the end of one's life."
In particular, Dignitas became globally known by supporting assisted suicide not only for Swiss citizens but also for foreigners who come to Switzerland from countries where euthanasia is not permitted.
Currently, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and Austria have introduced assisted-suicide laws since 2015, and in the United States assisted suicide is legal in 10 states.
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, euthanasia in which a doctor directly administers drugs to a patient is illegal, but assisted suicide has been allowed since 1942 on the condition that the person who wishes to die is mentally sound.