In Sweden, it is not possible to get assisted euthanasia through care if you are so ill that you cannot do it yourself. However, there are companies that provide help to people who want to take their lives by giving them tools to do it on their own.
One such company is Elysium. In the program series “Last aid”, the reporter gets contact with the company.
– I see it as helping people, I will never push anyone to do this but it is someone’s own choice, says the person on the phone when he thinks it is an interested who calls.
Gastub and plastic bag
The reporter pretends to be the daughter of a woman who wants help to die. According to the person on the phone, it should be done through a gas tube that is connected to a plastic bag.
The cost of the service is SEK 45,000 in Stockholm, and the company pays no taxes on the money. According to the same person, the company has previously helped ten people end their lives.
– If you really want to die, and have the ability to make the decision, it is not punishable to help someone, says lawyer Hanna Larsson Rampe in the program.
But this is a company that is paid to do this, does it not mean that it is criminal?
– Not just because they make money from it. Everything is about the person doing it out of completely free will. Whether the other person represents a company or is a private person does not really matter, says Hanna Larsson Rampe.
When the program asks for a real interview, they do not get any answers and the company disappears from the network.
See the “last aid” on SVT Play Or SVT 1 at 21.30 on March 4.