How People Traveling Abroad to Die Came to be Called “Death Tourists”, and Why They Shouldn’t

Abstract

Switzerland has a unique position among countries permitting some form of assisted dying. However, not all Swiss citizens and institutions are welcoming this fact and have coined the term "suicide tourism" for the phenomenon of foreign residents coming to Switzerland in order to request assisted dying. This reflection shows how the term was created and why it is misleading.

Travelling to die: views, attitudes and end-of-life preferences of Israelis considering receiving aid-in-dying in Switzerland

“…Review of the categories led to the omission of a number of categories that seemed to be out of the ordinary and had no significant contribution to the research question. Interpretation of the data was based on a phenomenological-interpretive approach with a focus on the participants' claims, explanatory logic, biographical contexts, and cultural frameworks of knowledge; [ 4 ] Major themes identified from the interviews were developed and re-organized into a scheme of codes and central themes [ 39 , 40 ]. Findings were arranged in final categories and themes, with a hierarchy being determined and justified, and core categories being identified.…”

“…Yet for many, this must be performed outside their homeland, where receiving help for such actions (mainly through the prescription of lethal drugs) is illegal. Indeed, the evolving phenomenon of suicide tourism, which has drawn much criticism and debate [ 4 , 5 ], has also attracted interest in their academic fields of medical ethics[ 6 , 7 ], tourism [ 8 – 10 ] and cultural studies [ 11 ].…”

“…In November 2018, the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences [ 14 ] issued five requirements for aid-in-dying in Switzerland: [ 1 ] the patient has the capacity to issue such a request—a capacity that must be assessed and documented; [ 2 ] the patient's desire is independent and well-considered; [ 3 ] the symptoms of the patient’s disease or impairment cause the patient intolerable suffering; [ 4 ] the patient has sought other medical treatment options that were ineffective or unacceptable; and [ 5 ] the patient's request is understandable, based on the patient's history and repeated discussions with the physician who agrees that aid-in-dying is suitable in this case [ 14 ].…”

“…A more recent systematic review covering qualitative studies from 2001–2016, on the expression of people's wish to die due to life-threatening conditions, found five major themes [ 15 ]: [ 1 ] Suffering was an overarching theme and a common denominator for understanding the other themes, and included physical suffering as well as psychological, social, or existential suffering; [ 2 ] Reasons for wishing to die, including physical, psychological, emotional, and social reasons; [ 3 ] Meanings attributed to the wish to die, such as a cry for help, a preferable alternative to suffering, sparing others having to care for them, a way of preserving self-determination, and an expression of another form to live; [ 4 ] Functions that are addressed through the wish to die, such as means for communicating feelings, thoughts, and wishes, and means for maintaining control over one's life; and [ 5 ] the feeling that time is running out, death is imminent, and we should be ready for it.…”

Assistance in dying across borders: How the transnational circulations of persons, terms and themes influence the construction of a public problem

“…This process is often called "suicide tourism" or "death tourism". For critiques of the "tourism" terminology, see Haesen (2018). 6.…”