GOTT. Ein Theaterstück

78-year-old Richard Gärtner lost his purpose in life after his wife, Elisabeth, died of a brain tumour three years ago. Although he is in the best of health, he wants to die with medical assistance. Following the recent ruling of the German Federal Constitutional Court, he does indeed have the right to seek assisted suicide as a healthy person. However, as the practice is not yet regulated by law, he has unsuccessfully tried to apply for a lethal dose of sodium pentobarbital at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, just as his family doctor rejected his request for assisted suicide. He thus turns to the German Ethics Council, which has to decide whether it is ethically justifiable for a doctor to help a healthy person die. In the council meeting, Mr Gärtner and his family doctor, Dr Brandt, provide insight into his personal situation, allowing the audience to learn about his existential suffering at the loss of his wife and his determination to die. In addition, three experts from the fields of law, medicine and theology are questioned on the subject of assisted dying, alternately by Dr Keller from the Ethics Council, who rejects physician-assisted suicide, and Mr Gärtner's lawyer and friend Biegler, who considers it a legitimate act of self-determination. The audience is thus presented with arguments for and against assisted dying from different perspectives, which should enable them to make an informed judgement about Mr Gärtner's case. The play envisages that, at the end, the audience will assume the role of the Ethics Council and vote on whether or not Mr Gärtner should receive the lethal drug. The results from the stagings are documented on a website.

Schirach’s play sparked an enormous media response, mainly due to its topicality. He wrote it at a time when physician-assisted suicide was prevented by Section 217 of the German Criminal Code (2015). Several constitutional complaints were pending against it, so Schirach, who is also a lawyer himself, deliberately chose a topic where there was a need for clarification. Unexpectedly, however, GOTT gained further relevance before its publication when the Federal Constitutional Court declared Section 217 ‘null and void‘ in February 2020. The Court ruled that ‘the general right of personality encompasses a right to a self-determined death, which includes the right to suicide‘ as well as ‘the freedom to seek and, if offered, make use of assistance provided by third parties for this purpose.‘ This right, the Court further stated, ‘is in particular not limited to serious or incurable illness.‘ Following this judgement, it is up to the Bundestag to pass new legal regulations. Schirach also adapted his play specifically to the ensuing debate, and it did not go unnoticed by the lawmakers: the Bundestag compiles and recommends topical literature on the subjects currently under discussion, and among the 55 works on assisted suicide, Schirach's GOTT is the only work of fiction. While it has been a great success in theatres and the audience mostly votes clearly in favour of Mr. Gärtner's right to assisted suicide, the play has also met with fierce criticism from theology and medicine. Various representatives accused Schirach of presenting the subject of assisted suicide in an overly one-sided and approving manner, and criticized above all the negative portrayal of the characters who spoke out against it. The criticism was particularly directed against the film version, GOTT von Ferdinand von Schirach, which was produced at the same time as the play and for which Schirach wrote the screenplay.

Suggested Citation: GOTT: Ein Theaterstück, Assisted Lab: A Living Archive of Assisted Dying, 18 March 2024 <link>