Germany’s top court backs legalizing assisted suicide – In a landmark ruling, Germany’s highest court has overturned a section of the criminal code forbidding assisted suicide.

Paragraph 217 of Germany’s criminal code had prohibited assisted suicide. The law was adopted in 2015 by Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, to prevent associations or individuals from turning suicide into a kind of business. Specifically, the law states that “anyone who, with the intention of assisting another person to commit suicide, provides, procures or arranges the opportunity for that person to do so and whose actions are intended as a recurring pursuit incurs a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a fine.”

Sterbehilfe-Vereine lassen sich ihre Dienste meist bezahlen. Bei der assistierten Sterbehilfe wird das tödliche Medikament nur zur Verfügung gestellt, der Patient nimmt es aber selbst ein.