Assisted suicides increased by more than a quarter in just one year in Switzerland, according to newly released figures.
There were 742 cases of assisted suicide in 2014, up 26 per cent on the previous year.
There has been a steady rise in the country which has seen a 250 per cent increase in assisted suicides since 2009.
Depression
In 2014, over 20 people who were helped to die were reported to have had depression.
Assisted suicide has been allowed to take place in Switzerland since 1942.
Last month, a Swiss nursing home was ordered by the Federal Court to allow the practice to take place on its premises.
Conflict
The Christian-run home, which belongs to The Salvation Army, had previously contested a Swiss law that allows assisted suicide to take place in charitable institutions, if requested by a patient.
They said that it conflicted with their religious beliefs and violated their freedom of conscience.
However, federal judges rejected their complaint and said the law allows individuals to decide how and when they want to die.
‘Gift from God’
Last year at Westminster, an assisted suicide Bill for England and Wales was heaviliy defeated by MPs in the House of Commons by 330 votes to 118.
Conservative MP Caroline Spelman said in the debate: “Life is a gift from God with all it entails”.
She highlighted the “increasing secularisation of society” as a cause behind older people “feeling a burden”.
