Germany’s Bundestag on Thursday voted down two proposals that would have enable a regime of assisted suicide [1].
The first would have made assisted suicide legal for stated circumstances, but otherwise prohibited. 304 lawmakers voted in favor, with 363 against.
The other proposal sought to enshrine a right to self-determined death in law.
Two groups of parliamentarians put forward the proposals which were subject to a free vote.
For one group, Katrin Helling-Plahr of the business-focused Free Democratic Party (FDP) said there were many people who wanted to decide to die when the right time for them had come, and that they should be able to do so without fear of legal repercussions.
Center-left Social Democrat (SPD) politician Lars Castellucci, speaking for the other group, said it was important to make assisted suicide possible without encouraging it.
He said anyone providing organized possibilities for suicide without adhering to a fixed concept of protecting the vulnerable should be liable for penalties.
Both proposals shared the aim of creating a legal framework for giving those wanting to commit suicide access to the lethal drugs they need.