Overview
- Alice and Ellen Kessler, both 89, died on Monday in Grünwald near Munich through assisted suicide, according to the DGHS.
- Assisted suicide is lawful after the Federal Constitutional Court struck down the 2015 ban in 2020, yet a binding regulatory framework has not been enacted.
- Government and media reports indicate a suicide‑prevention law is planned for 2026 after multiple cross‑party bills failed to pass.
- The DGHS says it mediated 623 assisted suicides in 2024, and its president estimates roughly 1,200 such deaths nationwide.
- Legal and ethical debate is intensifying as jurists and church‑aligned ethicists call for registries, independent assessments, and stronger palliative care, while the DGHS president argues additional legislation is unnecessary.