Inside the Dignitas House - Essay Example

The process makes sure individual rights to die are balanced with legal concerns. Patients must: First, you need to become a member of Dignitas; anyone can join if they pay an annual fee of 80 Swiss francs (£47). When you are ready to die, you need to send in copies of your medical records, a letter explaining why things have become intolerable, and £1,860.

These files are dispatched to one of Dignitas's affiliated doctors, who considers on the basis of the medical history whether or not he would be ready to write a prescription for the fatal dose. If he agrees in principle, then a "green light" is given to the member, and they can contact staff at the Dignitas headquarters, who will schedule a date and offer advice on hotels. Once they arrive in Zurich, the individual must pay £620 for two appointments with the doctor (to check their records and prescribe the drugs) and a further £1,860 to pay for two Dignitas staff members to organize and witness the death.

Those who cannot afford the fees may pay less. (Gentlemen 2009) The founder of Dignitas states “that anyone who has ‘mental capacity should be allowed to have an assisted suicide, claiming that it would save money for the NHS” (Brown 2009). Dignitas is not killing unwilling participants, but individuals with the right to make up their own minds. This practice is ethical when concerning rights.