Return to Home Page

 

About Us

Our Board of DirectorsConstitution By-LawsMedical DeclarationsOur HistoryNewsletters

Our MembersNews and ArchivesFrequently Asked QuestionsResourcesHow to HelpSite MapContract Us

 

 

HISTORY OF THE WORLD FEDERATION OF RIGHT TO DIE SOCIETIES

 

In 1976 Dr Tenrei Ota, upon formation of the Japan Euthanasia Society (now the Japan Society for Dying with Dignity), called for an international meeting of existing national right-to-die societies. Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States were all represented. This first meeting enabled those in attendance to learn from the experience of each other and to obtain a more international perspective on right to die issues.

Two years later a second international conference was hosted in San Francisco by the US-based Society for the Right to Die.

The World Federation of Right to Die Societies was founded at the third international conference. This was held in 1980 at Oxford in the United Kingdom, and was hosted by Exit Ñ The Society for the Right to Die with Dignity. At this conference the following resolution was unanimously adopted

1. That the World Federation of Right to Die Societies be set up:

1. To promote

a) Co-operation and liaison between voluntary euthanasia and right to die societies

b) The dissemination, possibly by means of an international newsletter, of information and educational material about:

  • Voluntary euthanasia and right to die issues and guidances as to the meaning of terms used.
  • Legislation and court judgements and other matters likely to be of interest to societies.
c) International conferences on dying and death.

2) To give assistance where requested in the foundation of similar societies in countries which do no have them.

2. That all voluntary euthanasia and right to die societies be invited to affiliate with the Federation.

Since its founding, the World Federation has come to include 38 right to die organisations from around the world, and has held nine additional international conferences, each hosted by one of our member organisations.

The most recent meeting of the World Federation was held September 5- 8 of this year in Brussels as part of the World Congress on Assisted Dying, and was hosted by our four Benelux member societies:

Association pour le Droit de Mourir dans la Dignite (Bruxelles, Belgium);
Recht op Waardig Sterven (Antwerpen, Belgium);
Association pour le Droit de Mourir dans la Dignite (Luxembourg); and
Nederlandse Vereniging voor Vrijwillige Euthanasie - NVVE (Netherlands)

Return to Top

 

World Federation Conferences

1. Tokyo 1976
2. San Francisco 1978
3. Oxford 1980 *
4. Melbourne 1982
5. Nice 1984
6. Bombay 1986
7. San Francisco 1988
8. Maastricht 1990
9. Kyoto 1992
10. Bath 1994
11. Melbourne 1996
12. Zurich 1998
13. Boston 2000
14. Brussels 2002

* Official formation of the World Federation of Right To Die Societies

 

Return to Top