Word: year
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Switzerland's law dates back to 1942. But the government now says it is too lax and that it's sometimes misused - for example, by allowing those who suffer from a chronic or mental illness to die. A Zurich University study released last year found that a number of people with non-fatal illnesses opted for assisted suicide, an abuse the authorities say they are determined to stop. Among the proposed measures, still to be fine-tuned and debated in parliament, is the requirement that two different doctors attest to the candidate's suitability for assisted suicide and confirm...
...Officials are also concerned about the influx of foreigners from nations where assisted suicide is illegal - Britain, France, Germany - who are coming to Switzerland to end their lives. A government advisory body on biomedical ethics estimates that out of approximately 350 to 400 cases of assisted suicide each year, about one-third are from abroad. "We as a country have no interest in being attractive for suicide tourism," Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told a news conference on Oct. 28. Not surprisingly, the Catholic Church, the country's largest religious denomination, welcomes the government's move. "Those...
...deaths and in the number of suicides in general." Unlike EXIT, whose membership is restricted to Swiss residents, at an annual fee of $27, Dignitas has sparked repeated controversy by helping people from abroad die in its clinic, including non-terminal cases like that of Dan James, a 23-year-old British rugby player who was paralyzed from the neck down and who ended his life in Zurich last year. While his condition was chronic, it was not terminal. Minelli tells TIME that people should have the right to "put an end to their lives to avoid lingering...
...China's economy is emerging from the global recession with such strength. But frothy increases in home prices are also fueling concerns that the property boom could turn into an unstable and dangerous bubble. According to government data, property prices in 70 cities rose 3.9% in October from a year earlier - the largest increase in 14 months. In 20 of the cities, prices jumped more than 1% from the month before. The phenomenon isn't limited to just a handful of wealthy cities on China's coast. Towns such as Nanjing, Kunming and Chongqing are experiencing price hikes as well...
...government of Extremadura in southwestern Spain launched a new sexual-education campaign designed to facilitate the "development of healthy habits, self-esteem and safety." Although the publicly funded campaign includes the publication of pamphlets and an online magazine, the highlight is a series of workshops for 14-to-17-year-olds aimed at educating participants on anatomy, body image, safe-sex practices, gender equality and, in the mildly celebratory words of an early press release (since redacted), "sexual self-exploration and erotic self-knowledge." Or, in other words, masturbation. (See a TIME cover story...