German lawmakers debate assisted suicide regulation
German lawmakers are debating a range of proposals to regulate assisted suicide, an issue of particular sensitivity in a country where the last time euthanasia was part of public policy it was used by the Nazis to kill more than 200,000 people with physical and mental disabilities.
Assisted suicide is currently a gray area in Germany, neither permitted nor banned by law. Four proposals being debated in Parliament Friday range from fully permitting it so long as it's not for profit, to a near-complete ban.
All proposals have support from a mix of parties, while one group of lawmakers considers all of them unconstitutional.
Chancellor Angela Merkel supports a middle-of-the-road version, proposing up to three years in jail for anyone who offers suicide to someone else "on business terms."
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