Suicide Tourist By Craig Ewert

Death is a part of life that we as human have little to no control over. It may come suddenly, or it can be a process that takes months or even years. But what if you had the chance to choose how you would die and when you would die. Would you make the process fast and easy or would you use your time to reconnect with your family and do things you’ve never done before? For Craig Ewert, the decision came as one that had to be made. In 2006, Craig was diagnosed with ALS and was given a short time to live. Because of this Mr. Ewert decided that he would take matters into his own hands and die on this own terms. With the help of Dignitas, an assisted suicide company in Switzerland, he was able to do just that. In the movie, Suicide Tourist, we
follow Craig’s journey as he travels to Switzerland to end his life. Because of Switzerland’s assisted suicide laws, Craig had to take many different steps in his process. While being recorded, Mr. Ewert had to turn off his ventilator and drink a lethal liquid that would ultimately kill him. However, because of his ALS, he was paralyzed from the neck down. This meant that in order to turn off his ventilator, he had to use this mouth to flip the switch. This also meant that the liquid that he drank had to be held for him, but because of the Swiss law, he had to drink the liquid from a straw by his own will. After the process was done, Dignitas had to call the police and report that there had been a suicide. They then had to show the police the recording of Craig turning off his ventilator and drinking the liquid. However, would it have made a difference if the doctor gave Craig the lethal dose instead of him taking it by himself? Many may think that assisted suicide is the same as a doctor administering the lethal dose to a patient but in reality it is quite different. If a doctor administers a lethal dose of medicine to a patient, it is actually considered to be euthanasia. This would mean that the doctor injected medicine into a patient that could kill them, which is illegal in Switzerland and the United States. In Craig’s case this would mean that the doctor would have turned off his ventilator for him and would have given Craig the medicine directly. However, since Craig turned off his ventilator and drank his medicine, he had an assisted suicide.
Craig’s case, although tragic, is one of many cases that can help us understand death a little bit more.
As a part of the death system, we learned that there are many components to death. These include people, places, times, objects and symbols. In Craig’s case, people, places, and objects can be considered. A place can be considered because Craig and his wife travel from the United States to Switzerland in order to end his life. They do this because in the United States the laws for assisted suicide are a lot stricter than that of Switzerland. It is also noted that in the United States the only states that assisted suicide are legal in are Oregon, Washington, Vermont and California. Whereas in Switzerland, outsiders are allowed to come in to end their lives. In Switzerland, Craig had the freedom to end his life the way he
wanted.
Another component of the death system is people. In the decision to end his life, Craig made it apparent to leave his children out of the final process. He made it to where only his wife, Mary Ewert, and doctors would be there when he died. This decision was not an easy one, however Craig knew that his decision would help his children cope with their lose in the long run. So in an effort to help his children, before his death, he types up a letter so that they can further understand his decision. And even though he left his children out of his final process, Craig’s wife was there throughout it all. She helped him every step of the way and even comforted him as he passed away.
The last component of the death system, in regards to Craig’s case, was objects.
Normally some objects of the death system would be things like hearses or the electric chair. However, in Craig’s case, these objects would be Craig’s ventilator and the lethal dose of medicine that he used to end his life. The ventilator is considered because it was an object that kept Craig alive, however, it was also the object used in his death. With him turning off the ventilator, Craig administered his death in a way that most people would consider as him playing God. Ewert makes it apparent to address that just because he was ending his own life, it did not mean that he was playing God. He brought up how there is a major paradox in this discussion because every day doctors use objects like ventilators as medical interventions and are never considered to be playing God. Whereas when he turns off his ventilator he is considered to be playing God. So why is it that he was considered to be playing God, when doctors
aren’t?
Throughout life, we all have to make decisions that affect not only us but the people around us. These decisions can be made in the spare of the moment or can be decisions that we take time to carefully debate. But what if you or a loved one wanted to make a decision that would ultimately take their life? What would you do? What would you say? Would you consider an option like assisted suicide if you were in a similar situation like Craig? Only time can tell.