Who decides on the end of life?

The discussion about the end of life continues on the order of the day. On the one hand, technological and medical progress has considerably extended life expectancy. On the other hand, it created the challenge as to discern when the appropriate moment of dying has come and to help to prepare duly for death. Based on concrete cases like the famous Ramon Sampedro (Mar adentro - The Sea Inside), organizations of assistance to suicide like the Swiss Exit, legislations of various countries, positions of churches and theological reflections in the tradition of the (namely Lutheran) Reformation, the article reflects on the responsibility for the moment of death - is it God's, the doctor's, the dying's? It argues that the image of a deterministic God is not helpful for a bioethical reasoning about the so called "good death" (euthanasia), or "right death" (orthothanasia).