Switzerland's Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says she wants to put a stop to what is being called death tourism.

Increasing numbers of foreigners who want to end their lives travel to Switzerland to make use of liberal Swiss legislation on assisted suicide. In 2007, 400 people died with help from groups offering assisted suicide in Switzerland. One-third of them came from either Great Britain or Germany, where helping someone kill themselves is almost always illegal.

One of the reasons the issue has become a hot topic in Switzerland is that increasing numbers of foreigners seeking to end their lives are reported not to be terminally ill. It is likely the Swiss regulations will be tightened up, making evidence of terminal illness and the use of standard drugs compulsory. However, there are also proposals to outlaw all forms of assisted suicide.

photo: flickr / aldo.mariano