The number of assisted suicides for Swiss residents has risen by 700 per cent in the space of 11 years, according to new figures. In what is believed to be a first, Switzerland’s Federal Statistics Office has published official statistics showing how many people ended their lives by assisted dying between 1998 and 2009. Almost 300 Swiss residents died in this manner only in the year 2009, compared to just 43 in 1998. The vast majority of people were over 55, and the figures also showed that women were more likely to be killed by assisted suicide than men. Figures from Dignitas, a Swiss suicide clinic, showed that the organisation helped 1,298 people commit suicide between 1998 and 2011. The news follows a debate in the House of Commons last week, where an attempt to undermine the law against assisted suicide was unanimously rejected by MPs. The Commons gave unanimous backing to an amendment encouraging the development of specialist palliative care services.

Pray: that this growing trend would be halted. Also pray for the adoption of specialist palliative care such as has been introduced in the UK. (Pr.15:24)

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