Dignitas founder dies by assisted suicide at one of his own clinics

Ludwig Minelli, founder of the Dignitas assisted suicide chain, has died at the age of 92 at one of the Dignitas clinics.

Key Takeaways:

• Minelli was the founder of Dignitas, a non-profit assisted suicide organization which operates facilities in Switzerland.

• Dignitas has been behind the push for legalizing assisted suicide around the globe, and is willing to kill people for reasons like mental illness.

• Shortly before his 93rd birthday, Minelli died, according to a Dignitas press release.

• It was not revealed if he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

The Details:

Dignitas issued a press release announcing Minelli's death, vowing to continue his mission of promoting death. Minelli, the group said, led a life "for freedom of choice, self-determination, and human rights."

Minelli originally worked as a journalist for the German magazine "Der Spiegel" before transitioning to law. He became a human rights lawyer and later became interested in assisted suicide.

He founded Dignitas in 1998 after a disagreement with Exit International, another assisted suicide group. Minelli began promoting assisted suicide not just as an alternative for a painful, prolonged death from terminal illness, but as something that should be socially acceptable.

“We should break the taboo of discussing suicide,” he previously told the Washington Post. “For the sake of efficiency, you should be able to offer assisted suicide when this is the best possible solution. We’ve got to take this problem out from under the carpet and put it right on the table.”

Zoom In:

Dignitas has been a controversial organization since its inception. While assisted suicide activists publicly claim that assisted suicide is necessary to prevent a person from suffering due to a fatal illness, the reality is far worse — and Dignitas is a prime example.

People have been killed at Dignitas because they were elderly, have mental illness, have disabilities, or were afraid they have "lost their looks."

Dignitas has also fought to legalize assisted suicide in other countries outside of Switzerland, and fought against efforts to restrict assisted suicide tourism.

The Bottom Line:

Assisted suicide is an insidious scourge on the globe that is spreading non-stop. It does not give people freedom, and taking someone's life is not a human right.