December 3rd, 2025 - Ludwig Minelli, Founder of Dignitas Assisted-Suicide Group, Passes Away at 92

Ludwig Minelli, the Swiss lawyer who founded Dignitas, an organization that aids people in ending their lives, passed away on Saturday at his home in Forch, near Zurich, at the age of 92. Minelli, who was a proponent of assisted suicide as a fundamental human right, had spent much of his life advocating for personal autonomy in the matter of death. Dignitas, which he established in 1998, has helped over 3,000 people die with assistance, claiming that "to live with dignity, to die with dignity" was a central principle.

Minelli’s views on assisted dying were often controversial. He believed that everyone should have the right to decide the timing and manner of their death, a stance that earned him significant opposition, particularly from the Roman Catholic Church. Despite the criticism, he remained steadfast in his belief that people should be free to choose how they end their lives. In 2023, he referred to suicide as "a marvelous possibility," arguing that it should not be limited to the terminally ill.

His advocacy was met with legal challenges, including charges of exploiting his clients, though he was acquitted. In 2018, Swiss prosecutors accused him of taking advantage of a woman’s will by arranging her suicide to pocket the $120,000 she had left to Dignitas. He strongly denied these allegations, which he called "absurd." His work with Dignitas also raised concerns about “death tourism” in Switzerland, as the organization attracted clients from around the world.

Minelli’s interest in euthanasia stemmed from a deeply personal experience. In the 1960s, while working as a journalist, he witnessed the prolonged and painful death of his grandmother. Her struggle, compounded by her wish to die sooner, sparked his eventual shift from journalism to law. He went on to become a human rights lawyer and, in 1992, started working for Exit, another Swiss assisted-dying organization. Six years later, he founded Dignitas.

Under Minelli’s leadership, Dignitas became a pioneer in the global movement for assisted suicide, despite facing resistance. Unlike many similar organizations, Dignitas offered its services to people from all over the world, a decision that drew heavy criticism from some Swiss nationals. They saw it as a source of unwanted "death tourism." However, Minelli defended the practice, explaining that he didn’t see a moral difference between helping people across a border who were suffering in the same way.

Minelli’s Dignitas organization operates with strict procedures to ensure that individuals requesting assisted suicide meet all necessary criteria. The process involves a detailed evaluation of medical conditions, multiple face-to-face meetings with a doctor, and a written request. Minelli insisted that clients had to be capable of administering the lethal medication themselves. Despite the controversial nature of his work, Minelli remained a strong advocate for individual rights and the autonomy of patients in deciding their fate.

Survived by his daughters, partner, and grandchildren, Minelli’s legacy will continue to shape the ongoing debates over euthanasia and the ethics of assisted dying. He believed that the societal resistance to personal freedom in matters of death was a reflection of deeper power struggles within medicine, politics, and religion. His work with Dignitas was seen as a challenge to these entrenched systems, promoting a philosophy that valued personal choice and autonomy above traditional taboos.

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster) - Alchemy (noun, AL-kuh-mee) - Alchemy refers to a power or process that changes or transforms something in a mysterious or impressive way.

Example: They practiced their alchemy in the kitchen, turning a pile of vegetables and legumes into an extravagant meal.

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