Several nursing home operators would prohibit their residents from using assisted suicide through house rules. According to a report, the Ombudsman discovered this during unannounced visits. Passive euthanasia is in principle unpunished in Austria.
According to the Ombudsman, the affected operators are threatening their residents with terminating their housing contracts if they are caught preparing for euthanasia. Some home providers may also have prohibited their staff from advising residents about legal options upon request. The report does not mention specific names; according to ‘profile’ these could be religious institutions.
Report: “Duties of tolerance”
The Ombudsman commissioned his Human Rights Advisory Council to prepare a report, which concluded in December 2023 that operators had no obligation to cooperate, but did have an “obligation to tolerate the rights set out in law”. Residents who want to die “should be able to exchange information and information, and they should also be able to exercise the rights and assistance provided for in the right to a humane death in the institution in which they live.”
The passages in the house rules that prohibit euthanasia are “null and void”. Operators are not free to threaten termination. Residents are also “dependent on receiving all information directly at the facility due to a lack of mobility.”
The law requires educational discussions
Under the law, people who are seriously or terminally ill and want to receive assisted suicide can issue a death order. For this purpose, educational conversations with doctors are mandatory. Two doctors must independently confirm that the person who wants to die is capable of making decisions and wants to voluntarily end his life. One person must have completed palliative medicine training.
Source: Krone
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