Suicide tourism is a controversial and sensitive topic, but it is a recognised phenomenon in tourism studies. It usually refers to people travelling to another country or state where assisted dying is legal. This article explains what suicide tourism is, where it takes place and the ethical debates that surround it.
This article discusses suicide and assisted dying. If you are struggling or affected by any of the issues raised, support is available: in the UK and Ireland you can call Samaritans free on 116 123, and in the US you can call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).
What is suicide tourism?
Suicide tourism (also called assisted dying tourism or right-to-die tourism) is the term given to travelling to another country or state in order to access assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia that is not legal at home.
Video: Suicide tourism explained
Suicide tourism definition
In the abstract of their article ‘Defining Physician-Assisted Suicide Tourism and Travel’ in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, Chung-En Yu, Jun Wen and Fang Meng say:
“The concept of suicide tourism was first mentioned in the late 1900s; however, definitions remain ambiguous. Although “tourism” is often associated with joyful experiences, it involves forms and purposes that may not be leisure- or pleasure-related, in which suicide tourism is unique and scarcely examined […] The notion is redefined by tourism practices related to physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Subcategories include suicide tourism and suicide travel, depending on whether a person returns to his or her own country/region after a PAS-related trip. In addition, suicide tourism applies to anyone interested in exploring PAS, including via an informational journey.”
Suicide tourism can further be defined as a form of tourism that is associated with the pro-euthanasia movement which involves specialist providers to assist in facilitating trips for suicide candidates to destinations where assisted suicide is legal.
What is assisted suicide?
One reason that suicide tourism exists is because physician-assisted suicide is legal in some countries. Some people with terminal or incurable illnesses, who have little quality of life, travel to these countries so that they can die on their own terms. Supporters describe this as dying with dignity.
This is similar to euthanasia, where a doctor deliberately ends a patient’s life to avoid further suffering. However, with assisted suicide the patient has made the decision themselves. This can also be called voluntary euthanasia. Campaigners often prefer the term ‘assisted dying’.
The NHS website summarises the law in England as follows:
Both euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal under English law.
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is illegal under the terms of the Suicide Act (1961) and is punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment. Trying to kill yourself is not a criminal act.
Euthanasia
Depending on the circumstances, euthanasia is regarded as either manslaughter or murder. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
This is also the case in most countries. However, there are exceptions. In the UK, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would have legalised assisted dying for some terminally ill adults in England and Wales, passed the House of Commons in June 2025 but ran out of time in the House of Lords in April 2026. Campaigners have said they will try to reintroduce it, and similar proposals have been debated in Scotland, the Isle of Man and Jersey.
Suicide tourism destinations
In most cases, suicide tourism involves travelling to one of a few select countries, because of the relaxed rules on assisted suicide. The main destinations for suicide tourists are outlined below.
Assisted suicide in Switzerland
The country most associated with assisted suicide is Switzerland. The law says that lethal drugs can be prescribed by doctors in Switzerland, but the recipient has to take an active role in the administering of these. Active euthanasia itself is still illegal.
Assisted suicide in Switzerland has to be done for non-selfish reasons. For example, this cannot be done for monetary gain. Companies involved in suicide tourism and other forms of assisted suicide in Switzerland must be not-for-profit. The outcome of this legal situation is various non-profit organisations across the country, which first became established in the 1980s.
The best-known organisation is Dignitas, founded in 1998, which accepts foreign members. Thousands of people from other countries have ended their lives with its help. One widely reported example was Dr Anne Turner, a British doctor with an incurable degenerative disease, who died at a clinic in Zürich in 2006.
There have often been calls for stricter regulation of suicide tourism in Switzerland, but in 2011 voters in Zürich rejected proposals to ban it. Switzerland remains the most common destination, particularly for people from Germany, the UK and France. The issue returned to the headlines in 2024, when the first use of the controversial ‘Sarco’ suicide capsule led to arrests and a police investigation.
Assisted suicide for healthy couples
In 2007, Swiss organisation Dignitas began a journey to obtain legal permission for healthy foreigners (i.e. people not suffering from a terminal illness or painful disability) to end their own lives in Switzerland too. This would include married couples in suicide pacts. Two years later, in 2009, the conductor Sir Edward Downes, who was not terminally ill, took his own life in a clinic based just outside of Zürich alongside his terminally-ill wife, Joan.
Assisted suicide in the United States
People may also travel within the USA to access what is known there as ‘medical aid in dying’. Euthanasia is illegal across the country, but by 2026 medical aid in dying had been authorised in 13 states and Washington, D.C. These are:
- California
- Colorado
- Oregon
- Vermont
- New Mexico
- Maine
- New Jersey
- Hawaii
- Montana (through a court ruling)
- Washington, D.C.
- Delaware (2025)
- Illinois (2025)
- New York (2026)
- Washington
Most US laws require patients to be adults with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less to live. Most states also require patients to be residents, but Oregon and Vermont removed their residency requirements in 2023, meaning that people can travel there from other states.
A 2018 Gallup poll found that 72% of Americans supported allowing doctors to end a terminally ill patient’s life at their request. Most suicide tourism in the USA is domestic, with people travelling from one state to another.
Assisted suicide in The Netherlands
While assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, there is very little suicide tourism here. This is because a well-established relationship between the doctor and the patient needs to exist. This means that visitors from abroad are effectively unable to access it.
Euthanasia is relatively common in the Netherlands: according to the country’s Regional Euthanasia Review Committees, there were 9,958 cases in 2024, around 5.8% of all deaths. Strict criteria must be met in order for a person to be granted the right to die by assisted suicide here. “The New Regulation of Voluntary Euthanasia and Medically Assisted Suicide in the Netherlands” in the Int J Law Policy Family journal sets these out as:
- the patient’s suffering is unbearable with no prospect of improvement
- the patient’s request for euthanasia must be voluntary and persist over time (the request cannot be granted when under the influence of others, psychological illness or drugs)
- the patient must be fully aware of his/her condition, prospects, and options
- there must be consultation with at least one other independent doctor who needs to confirm the conditions mentioned above
- the death must be carried out in a medically appropriate fashion by the doctor or patient, and the doctor must be present
- the patient is at least 12 years old (patients between 12 and 16 years of age require the consent of their parents)
Assisted suicide in Mexico
Mexico has legalised ‘passive euthanasia’ in several states, which allows patients (or their next of kin) to refuse life-sustaining treatment. Active euthanasia and assisted suicide remain illegal, despite attempts to have them decriminalised.
Mexico has also been linked to a different, unregulated form of ‘suicide tourism’, with reports of people travelling there to buy veterinary drugs. This is illegal and highly dangerous, and is very different from regulated assisted dying.
Assisted dying in other countries
Assisted dying or euthanasia is also legal, in different forms, in countries including Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand and all six Australian states. However, most of these countries limit access to residents or require a long-standing relationship with a doctor, so they attract little suicide tourism.
Ethics surrounding suicide tourism
There are obviously a lot of ethical questions that come into play when discussing suicide tourism. Many people believe in the right to die on one’s own terms. But many people see these ‘mercy killings’ as no better than murder. So, depending on who you ask, there are different answers to these ethical questions.
Humans have bodily autonomy, and as such many people believe that individuals should be able to choose when our life ends. Life does have a natural end, with death being the only certainty in life, so many people argue that if someone doesn’t want to prolong their life with drugs, treatment and medication then why should they? People who are ‘for’ assisted suicide and therefore suicide tourism believe that it can be controlled, and that it is wanted and needed by many.
However, those who argue against assisted suicide say that it is a slippery slope. It could be used as an excuse for killing someone who didn’t actually want to die. They propose alternatives such as hospice care and strong pain relief.
The ethics of suicide tourism aren’t too far removed from the ethics of assisted suicide. The only added question to ask is whether anyone is making a profit from someone travelling to another state or country to end their life, and whether this is morally sound.
Suicide tourism: FAQs
Below are answers to some of the most common questions about suicide tourism.
What is suicide tourism?
Suicide tourism, also known as assisted dying tourism, is when a person travels to another country or state to access assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia because it is not legal where they live.
Which country is most associated with suicide tourism?
Switzerland is the country most associated with suicide tourism, because assisted suicide is permitted there if it is not carried out for selfish motives, and some organisations, such as Dignitas, accept foreign members.
Is assisted dying legal in the UK?
No. Assisted suicide is illegal in England and Wales under the Suicide Act 1961. A bill to legalise assisted dying for some terminally ill adults passed the House of Commons in June 2025 but ran out of time in the House of Lords in April 2026.
Where is medical aid in dying legal in the USA?
By 2026, medical aid in dying was authorised in 13 US states and Washington, D.C., including Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado, Vermont, New Jersey, Delaware, Illinois and New York. Oregon and Vermont do not require patients to be residents.
Why is suicide tourism controversial?
Supporters argue that people should have the right to choose when to end their life if they are suffering. Opponents raise concerns about vulnerable people being pressured, the risk of a ‘slippery slope’, and the ethics of organisations or destinations benefiting from people travelling to die.
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