New Push for Assisted Suicide Legislation in Germany's Bundestag
Legislation Implements Workplace Assisted Suicide Provisions
The Federal Constitutional Court's ruling on the right to self-determined dying has imposed challenges on the German parliament. After two attempts in 2023, legislators are now working on a fresh legislative initiative.
Following the failed legislative reform of assisted suicide in Germany's Bundestag in 2023, SPD MP Lars Castellucci is spearheading a new initiative. Castellucci, speaking to the "Rheinische Post," expressed optimism that they will soon craft a balanced and clear legislative solution for the legal situation in this legislative period. A working group has already been formed, and an initial meeting has taken place, with plans to initiate a successful legislative process in the near future.
Castellucci added, "We should respect the decisions of people who choose self-determined death, but we must also prevent normalization of suicide and placing undue pressure on vulnerable individuals." The necessity for a complete restart in this legislative period is also due to the shift in parliamentary majority ratios.
"Greater Chances of Adoption"
The chairman of the German Ethics Council, Helmut Frister, positively welcomes the MPs' initiative. "I believe it's positively and reasonably sensible that the Bundestag is striving to find a regulation for suicide assistance," he told our team. According to Frister, a successor provision for the paragraph struck down by the Federal Constitutional Court should not be implemented this time. "I welcome this renunciation both for content reasons and because it increases the chances of legal regulation being passed," said the legal scholar.
In 2015, the German Bundestag passed a law banning commercial and repeat-assisted suicide. However, the Federal Constitutional Court struck it down in February 2020. Since then, a fundamental right to self-determined dying has existed, but it has not been legally regulated at the federal level. Two legislative drafts worked out by parliamentarians from various parties also failed to pass in 2023.
- Assisted Suicide in Germany
- German Bundestag
- Federal Constitutional Court
Insights: As of recent developments in 2025, Germany still lacks a new draft law on assisted suicide enacted by the Bundestag. The legal situation has changed since the German Federal Constitutional Court declared the previous ban on assisted suicide services incompatible with the constitutional guarantee of human dignity in 2020, making assisting suicide generally legal but unregulated at the federal level. [Source: ntv.de, mau] Public and professional attitudes towards assisted suicide continue to evolve, although recent failed legislative attempts indicate significant political and ethical disagreements. [Source: ntv.de, mau] The chances of a new draft law on assisted suicide being adopted in the near future appear low unless there is a substantial shift in parliamentary opinion or a stronger public mandate. [Source: ntv.de, mau]
- In the midst of ongoing discussions about assisted suicide in Germany, the institution of the place of residence, the Community institution, and various parties are recognizing the importance of maintaining mental health and promoting health-and-wellness while pursuing a balanced and clear regulation.
- Amidst the push for a new draft law on assisted suicide in Germany's Bundestag, scientific research on the right to family and its implications for end-of-life decisions is gaining increasing attention, as legislators aim to craft a regulation that respects individual autonomy while ensuring the protection of vulnerable individuals.
