German Society for Human Dying

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The German Society for Human Dying e. V. (DGHS) advocates self-determination at the end of life according to its own understanding. With around 23,000 members, it sees itself as a patient protection organization and a civil rights movement.

Foundation and goals

The society was founded on November 7, 1980 from the environment of the Federation for Freedom of the Spirit (bfg). Its level of awareness increased in the course of the 1980s, among other things through publicly discussed suicides such as that of DGHS member Hermy Eckert in 1984, so that the DGHS recorded a high of 59,700 members at the end of 1992. This then fell back in the further course. The current president of the society is the philosopher Dieter Birnbacher .

The purpose of the association is to improve the conditions for the dying, to raise public awareness of the problem of "humane dying" and to change the legal situation in this sense. The society sees itself as a civil rights movement as well as a patient protection organization for the realization of the right to self-determination up to the last minute of life and demands a "comprehensive legal regulation of terminal care and assistance". This also means that it should be left to the patient's personal decision whether to opt for palliative treatment or for (medically, i.e. professionally) assisted suicide. Both ways should be open to the patient. The (medical) helper should - according to these ideas - be safe from criminal and professional prosecution in the event of a "freely responsible decision". The DGHS refers to an Allensbach survey among doctors from 2010, according to which 33% of resident doctors and 27% of hospital doctors are in favor of a regulation for the legalization of medically assisted suicide. The DGHS is politically independent and is committed to the idea of enlightenment and humanism . She is a member of the German Lawyers' Association and the umbrella organization Right-to-die-Europe.

organization

The seat of the association is Berlin . The Presidium consists of Dieter Birnbacher (President), Robert Roßbruch (Vice President), Sonja Schmid (Vice President), Matthias Bernau, Gerhard Köble and Werner Lehr. Claudia Wiedenmann is the managing director. The highest body is the assembly of delegates.

Work of the association

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The focus of activity is the provision of information society with the help of advance directives advising in the drafting and enforcement.

From the point of view of the association, it is important to formulate your own will in a living will in good time and to appoint a reliable authorized representative who represents your own will if you are no longer able to do so yourself. In the German Civil Code (BGB), living wills have been in place since September 1, 2009. a. laid down in § 1901 a. As an offer for its members, the DGHS launched a proxy exchange in 2016, through which volunteers who would take on an authorization close to their place of residence can be brought together with seekers. On the other hand, the association works to prevent abuse in all forms of euthanasia .

The association calls for further legal options for euthanasia in the form of medically assisted suicide. The new § 217 StGB, according to which not only the commercial, i.e. commercial, but also the business-like, i.e. H. the DGHS rejects any organized suicide assistance . According to the association, this would also threaten doctors who would help a terminally ill patient to end his life independently. Those willing to die would have to rely more than before on taking the grueling journey to Switzerland to get rid of their suffering far from their familiar surroundings.

The guiding principle of society is that everyone should be able to die according to their own ideas and wishes and, if necessary, may also seek help. The dying patient should be helped to die at home and among his relatives, if he so wishes. The decisive factor should be the personally felt dignity of the person concerned.

Supports are pain management and palliative care , which is to provide in the event of terminal illness for relief of symptoms to allow a possible largely pain-free survival until death. In addition, the association operates a " hospice information center" for outpatient and inpatient hospice facilities, which is intended to provide support in the search for caring for the dying person or the possibility of dying at home.

The DGHS is a member of hpd e. V., the sponsoring association of the Humanist Press Service (hpd).

Controversy

At the Bremen trade fair Death and Life in 2015, the company was not allowed to set up a stand. The fair is an in-house event of the Bremer Messegesellschaft , the advisory board of the event is shaped by hospice associations and church representatives. Trade fair spokeswoman Christine Glander said that euthanasia was “not the subject of 'life and death'”, “We hope that our visitors leave the trade fair with as much information as possible, offers of help and, above all, the comforting thought that suicide is not necessary . "

Arthur Koestler Prize

Since 2000, the DGHS has awarded the prize, each endowed with 2000 euros, named after Arthur Koestler , to journalists and people who have taken on the subject of dying while taking into account the right to self-determination. The last winners were Hans Küng (2013) and Ralph Giordano (2014).

literature

  • Uwe-Christian Arnold: Last help. A plea for self-determined death. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 2016, ISBN 978-3-498-09617-5 .
  • Ernst Ankermann: Let it die. Self-determination and medical help at the end of life. Reinhardt, Munich a. Basel 2004, ISBN 3-497-01693-4 .
  • Christiaan Barnard : Happy Life - Worthy Death. The world-famous heart surgeon advocates euthanasia and the right to suicide . Hestia, Bayreuth 1981, ISBN 3-7770-0225-9 .
  • Dieter Birnbacher : Death . de Gruyter Verlag, Berlin / Boston 2017, ISBN 978-3-11-053344-6 .
  • Rolf Coeppicus: living will , power of attorney and euthanasia. Legal security in issuing and implementing. Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2001.
  • Michael Frieß: How to die? For self-determination at the end of life. A debate. Gütersloher Verlagshaus 2012, ISBN 978-3-579-06849-7 , pp. 97 ff.
  • Claus Fussek, Gottlob Schober: Enough! Elderly people also have rights. Knaur Publishing House, Munich 2013.
  • Constanze Giese, Christian Koch, Dietmar Siewert: Care and euthanasia. On the problem of an (un) wanted discourse . Mabuse, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 3-938304-17-0 .
  • Walter Jens , Hans Küng : To die humanely. A plea for personal responsibility. Verlag Piper, Munich Zurich, revised. Edition 2010, ISBN 3-492-05276-2 .
  • Manfred von Lewinski: Freedom to die? - Approaches and impulses. Logos-Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-8325-2995-6 .
  • Michael de Ridder: How do we want to die? A plea for a new culture of debate in times of high-performance medicine. DVA, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-421-04419-8 .
  • Thomas Sitte: Provision and support for the end of life. Spriner Verlag, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-662-44346-0 , pp. 185 ff.
  • Matthias Thöns: patient without disposal. The business of the end of life. Piper Verlag, Munich / Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-492-05776-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.dghs.de/service.html
  2. ↑ Prof. Dieter Birnbacher is the new President. German Society for Human Dying, November 14, 2016, accessed on November 18, 2016 .
  3. ↑ German Society for Human Dying (DGHS) eV: Organization - DGHS - German Society for Human Dying eV Accessed on June 5, 2020 .
  4. ↑ The Humanist Press Service. In: hpd.de. Retrieved May 15, 2014 .
  5. ↑ Alexandra Knief: Fight for “Life and Death” Weser-Kurier, April 30, 2015, accessed on May 4, 2015.