Our Society

EXIT (Deutsche Schweiz) is a democratically organised society under Swiss law.

Its work is dedicated to the cause of human self-determination.

Options offered by EXIT include living wills, legal counsel, and - if need be - safe and dignified end-of-life care.

All of this is free of charge for registered members.

The number of members of EXIT Deutsche Schweiz is currently over 160,000 and rising.

The Society's headquarters is located in Zurich, with branches in Bern, Basel and in Ticino. The affiliated francophone organisation, EXIT (Romandie) is seated in Geneva and counts around 35,000 members.

EXIT was founded in 1982. Today, it is one of the world's oldest and largest organisations for living wills and physician-assisted suicide.

EXIT attaches key priority to integrity and transparency, cooperating fully with the Swiss authorities. EXIT is a non-profit and partially tax-exempt organisation. Far more than three out every four Swiss citizens approve of EXIT, as surveys and referendum results suggest.

The Society's top-tier body is its Association Assembly. An executive board of five members, elected for a 4-year term, serves as strategic committee. The job of the board members, while charitable, includes operative work on behalf of the Society.

Business is handled by the Society office, which is run by two managers and around 40 employees. Staff also includes about 60 end-of-life attendants.

All of the employees have the personal-social and technical competence that is necessary to fulfil their responsibilities in this sensitive area.

End-of-life attendants submit to an in-depth training program that extends over a year and concludes with an assessment by the University of Basel. Seminars for continued professional development are scheduled several times a year. The collaboration with the physician-assisted suicide management is close, and mandatory for every end-of-life assignment.

Other bodies and commissions include the Business Audit Commission, the External Audit Agency, the External Ethics Commission, the Editorial Commission, and the Sponsorship Committee.