VOTERS IN ZURICH went to the polls to vote on the issue of assisted suicide this weekend amid claims many residents were uncomfortable with so-called ‘suicide tourism’.

Residents voted on two issues: firstly, to ban the practice entirely and, secondly, to limit assisted suicide services to residents only. Both were defeated on Sunday, the BBC reports.

However, critics have accused the governments of other countries of shirking their responsibility to hold proper debates about the issue of assisted death by allowing Switzerland to carry out the task.

Bernhard Sutter, of Switzerland’s biggest assisted suicide organisation Exit, said “We think it is very sad that very ill people have to travel thousands of kilometres to go to a liberal country to die”.

“(Other) countries should solve their own problems with dying people. We would be happy if those countries – Germany, Britain, France – would change their laws and liberalise them,” he added.

The people of Zurich have cast their vote, but what do you think?

Should Switzerland accept foreigners into the country in order for them to carry out assisted suicide?