Facts
The appellant, a 53-year-old man with severe bipolar affective disorder, requested that 15 grams of sodium pentobarbital be provided to him without a medical prescription through the association "Dignitas" in order to carry out an assisted suicide. The Federal Office of Public Health, the Federal Department of Home Affairs, and the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich rejected his request, as sodium pentobarbital is a dependence-producing psychotropic substance that may only be dispensed in pharmacies upon a medical prescription.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court held that neither Art. 10(2) of the Federal Constitution nor Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights obligate the state to enable the appellant to access sodium pentobarbital without a medical prescription. The requirement for a medical prescription is based on a…