Swiss canton cuts a deal with suicide group.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

An article by Marc Leutenegger that was published by Swissinfo.ch on February 21, 2025 states that the Swiss Canton Solothurn has cut a deal with the Pegasus assisted suicide group that will save money for the Canton by eliminating the need for the authorities to send a legal and medical team to investigate the death. Leutenegger reported that:

..the core of an agreement, unprecedented in Switzerland, that was signed late last year between canton Solothurn and the right-to-die organisation Pegasos. Under the new arrangement, if Pegasos provides video evidence that the suicide was carried out by the person themselves, as well as additional information, then the authorities do not send in a legal and medical team to investigate the death.

The agreement will make it easier for Pegasos and reduce the cost for the Canton. Leutenegger reported:

This reduces the costs of the post-mortem investigation to between CHF1,000 ($1,110) and CHF2,000 per case. What is more, the bill is paid by the right-to-die organisation, and therefore ultimately by the person who wanted to die.

According to Pegasos, the costs are subsumed in the total price of assisted suicide, which amounts to around CHF10,000 per person, be it with Pegasos or other, similar organisations in Switzerland.

According to Pegasos, the agreement above all helps to ensure a more dignified setting for the relatives. The farewell and grieving process is now no longer interrupted by the appearance of the criminal investigation team, the organisation wrote in response to a request. “This disturbed the family’s privacy in an intimate moment. Family and friends had to wait until the official procedures were completed.”

This agreement reduces the cost for the Canton with relation to assisted suicide. Leutenegger reports:

Thanks to the agreement, which came into effect in December, canton Solothurn can cut some high costs. Previously, each assisted suicide by a person resident abroad cost the canton around CHF3,000.

“We get a better result in terms of evidence in this way. The new arrangement also eases the burden on the public purse and on human resources,” says Solothurn’s chief prosecutor, Hansjürg Brodbeck. The authorities, meanwhile, reserve the right to carry out random checks.

It is expected that the number of assisted suicide deaths will double by 2035. Leutenegger wrote;

Lately, over 1,700 Swiss residents a year have committed assisted suicide. In addition, over 500 people from abroad travel to Switzerland for this purpose each year. And demand is increasing: observers expect the number of assisted suicides in Switzerland to double by 2035.

More information on the Switzerlands assisted suicide law.

• Swiss assisted suicide clinic's many controversial deaths (Link). 
• Euthanasia activist, Sean Davison, arrested in London England (Link).
• A mother's warning about her sons death by assisted suicide in Switzerland (Link). 
• My husbands death made me more opposed to assisted suicide (Link). 
• Swiss study: Legalizing assisted suicide does not lessen the number of common suicides (Link).