Undertaker Speaks – Excitement Euthanasia: When Death Is Welcome

“My mother will kill herself next week,” a woman’s voice says softly on the phone. At the other end of the line is Jörg Bauer, head of the Lichtblick funeral home in St. Christophen, Lower Austria. Considered a rebel in the industry, he offers ways to move away from traditional funeral services for the deceased’s final journey. He remembers.

The mother in question is Maria S. (name changed). The woman from Vienna had health problems all her life. She contracted polio at the age of ten. It is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause paralysis of the arms, legs and breathing. The vaccine was not developed until the 1950s, too late for Maria. Nothing was ever the same for the child. Little Maria had to be strong, at that time people with disabilities were still on the margins of society.

Touching: Despite all the obstacles, she managed to train as a seamstress, got married and became a mother. But the Viennese suffered from the effects of the infection all her life. In the early 1980s, she decided to end her life. By then Maria was already in a nursing home; paralysis of the diaphragm led to respiratory failure. Painful, slow suffocation threatened.

The patient chose assisted suicide because assisted suicide has been legal in Austria since the beginning of this year following the ruling of the highest court.

“She expressed a certain force”
When Maria visits the undertaker she trusts, she seems composed. “It expressed a certain strength,” Bauer says. The retiree had been waiting for this opportunity for years. The procedure has now been followed, as determined by the legislator. The woman consults two doctors, at least one of whom must be a specialist in palliative medicine. In addition, it is confirmed that the patient is of sound mind. A notary is also called in and to her surprise asks the woman medical questions.

She bought the medicine she took to fall asleep gently at a selected pharmacy. “I take it around midnight so that no one gets the idea to give first aid,” she confides to her undertaker.

The family agreed with the decision, the man did not want to let go so much. Finally, that night, Maria’s heart stopped beating forever. After her death, the detectives came, locked the room as if it were a murder and investigated the case.

Maria did not want to make a fuss about her death, the parting took place in the narrowest circles. The urn is now in their loved ones’ homes…

If you find yourself in a difficult life situation or in a time of crisis or if you have suicidal thoughts, please contact the counseling service on the free phone number 142 throughout Austria – daily 0-24.