Peter Hintze (CDU), Carola Reimann (SPD), Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Burkhard Lischka (SPD) support in their key issues paper a legal admission of medically assisted euthanasia. The representatives formulated seven terms determining when euthanasia becomes permissible: The patient is to be of legal age and able to consent, suffering from an irreversible fatal disease as well as extreme psychological stress, an extensive consultation about the patient’s course of the disease and wish to die has to have taken place, two physicians must confirm the wish and the patient must carry out the act herself.

Claudia Lücking-Michel, Michael Brand (both CDU) and Michael Frieser (CSU) reject the medically assisted suicide “as an official option” as well as every form of organized euthanasia. In a statutory “yes” to medically assisted suicide, they see the risk that suicide supported by a physician becomes the normal case. A regular offer would lead to an insidious shift of values towards a killing on request. Only close relatives who once accompany a family member wishing to die through suicide shall not be punished.

Eva Högl and Kerstin Griese (both SPD) likewise advocate in their position paper the punishability of assisted suicide. They argue the case, however, for a “middle way” in order to safeguard physicians a free space in ethical borderline situations. The SPD-representatives warn against an explicit permission and fear that social pressure would urge the elderly and the gravely ill to make use of the option of medically assisted suicide. They want instead to preserve the existing possibilities of aid at the end of life.

Elisabeth Scharfenberg and Harald Terpe (both Greens) align themselves in their position paper with the demand for a basic prohibition of assisted suicide. Certain persons shall, however, be excluded, such as family members, loved ones as well as attending physicians who have a close bond of trust and care to the patient. Moreover, they argue for a penal prohibition of commercial assisted suicide as well as the public advertising for it.

Renate Künast (Greens), Petra Sitte (Left) and Kai Gehring (Greens) see in their position paper fundamentally no legal need for amendment – assisted suicide shall not be regulated by criminal law, since suicide is no criminal offense and therefore assisting it cannot be a criminal offense either. Moreover, associations of euthanasia shall not be completely prohibited, rather only strictly regulated. Solely commercially working euthanasia associations shall be legally ruled out.