Similar to a living will, those affected have to draw up a death will. In pharmacies, the lethal drug is then to be given to the seriously ill or to a designated person. Another variant could also be that the pharmacies do not deliver the product to people who are dying.

Pharmacies will hand out drugs

The Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists gives a written position on the current discussion to ORF Salzburg:

“According to the results of the current discussions with the federal government, the pharmacists will also take over care in this area in accordance with their statutory mandate. An upright death will entitle persons willing to die to obtain a defined preparation in a public pharmacy. Another person who picks up these funds for the person concerned can also be determined at the disposal, for example if the person is not mobile.

It is currently planned that the pharmacist must check, on the basis of the submitted death will, by inspecting a death order register, whether the person concerned or an auxiliary person nominated by them is authorized to obtain the specified preparation. This should largely rule out any possible misuse.
The individual pharmacy is not obliged to dispense the specific preparation and the accompanying medication. The same applies to the pharmacists working in a pharmacy. “

Draft law is being examined by legal experts

How exactly the dispensing of the deadly drug should or can take place in pharmacies has not yet been clarified. All questions are still open, says Salzburg Chamber of Pharmacists President Kornelia Seiwald. The pharmacies would generally see themselves as partners for this, although this is a new path, says Seiwald. The legal experts at the nationwide Chamber of Pharmacists in Vienna are currently examining the draft law.