Allowance of assisted suicide (AS) and/or euthanasia (E) | Statutory regulation | ||
Belgium | no → yes (E) | Separate Act Concerning Euthanasia (Criminal Code remains unchanged)* | |
Germany | (yes AS) | (No specific regulation in German Penal Code)† | |
no (E) | (Art. 216 German Penal Code) | ||
The Netherlands | (no)‡ → yes | Amendment of the Dutch Criminal Code Art. 293 (killing on request) and Art. 294 (assisted suicide) | |
Norway | no | Art. 235 and Art. 236 Norwegian Penal Code | |
Switzerland | yes (AS) | (Art. 115 Swiss Penal Code)§ | |
no (E) | (Art. 114 Swiss Penal Code) | ||
United Kingdom | no | Section 2 Suicide Act for England and Wales 1961 |
Unless specified, all statements refer to both assisted suicide and euthanasia. Italics: developments since 2000
* The legal status of assisted suicide in Belgium is unclear.
† Physician-assisted suicide may legally conflict with a doctor’s obligation to save life
‡ Although illegal until 2002, both assisted suicide and euthanasia were tolerated in The Netherlands from the early 1970s.
§ Assisting in suicide is not illegal as long as there are no motives of self-interest.