Pro-life groups condemn ‘glorification’ of Kessler twins’ assisted suicide in Germany

CNA Deutsch, Nov 20, 2025 / 13:18 pm (CNA).

The Federal Association for the Right to Life, an umbrella organization for numerous pro-life organizations, has condemned the “glorification” of the assisted suicide of the 89-year-old Kessler twins.

Alice and Ellen Kessler were German singers and performers who were famous in Europe, especially in Italy, in the 1960s. The twin sisters decided to die together by assisted suicide at their home near Munich on Monday.

Alexandra Linder, the pro life association’s chairwoman, said: “There is widespread media coverage of this, with many praising the ‘self-determination’ of choosing the time and manner of death oneself rather than waiting for death and perhaps suffering.”

This is “dangerous,” Linder emphasized, because it could cause “people in suicidal situations” to “to kill themselves or have themselves killed. This so-called Werther effect was sadly evident in the suicide of soccer player Robert Enke: After his suicide became known, the number of suicides rose sharply. The media should take much more responsibility when reporting on such incidents.”

On Nov. 17, Tagesschau in Germany reported: “The Kessler twins Alice and Ellen, who became internationally known as singers, actresses, and entertainers, are dead. A spokesperson for the Munich police confirmed an operation in Grünwald near Munich. He did not provide any background information.”

“It was a case of assisted suicide, the German Society for Humane Dying (DGHS) told Bavarian Radio,” the Tagesschau continued. “‘The Kessler twins had been considering assisted suicide for a long time,’ said a DGHS spokeswoman. ‘Alice and Ellen Kessler had been members of the association for some time and had set the date of death themselves as Nov. 17.’”

“A lawyer and a doctor had held preliminary talks with them and came to the sisters’ house in Grünwald on Monday to accompany them as they died,” it said.

The chairwoman of the Federal Association for the Right to Life called for “critical questions about ethics and background” to be asked: “Can a lawyer who does not know the individuals, without appropriate specialist training, assess their mental and physical condition, their history, and their autonomy? Did the two 89-year-old women make this decision without outside influence, without acute pain, without the influence of medication, without fear of loneliness, of the future, of suffering, etc.? Were alternative courses of action sufficiently explained to them, for example, palliative care, attention, therapy options? What role might the people in charge of the euthanasia association have played, given that their interest lies in promoting ‘positive’ examples of death, from joining the organization to deciding to die?”

Linder explained that it is important to know “that the psyche, mood, and will to live can change almost daily, depending on circumstances, the level of pain, and the prospects for recovery. Even who comes to visit on a given day plays a role: a grumpy nurse or a granddaughter with a picture of the sun she painted for her grandmother.”

In Germany, as a wealthy country, “no one has to die alone, in severe pain or suffering, if they do not want to. It is inhumane to abandon people in difficult situations who are contemplating suicide to their fate and to declare their intention to commit suicide as autonomy.”

Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, president of the German Caritas Association, also expressed concern that “the extensive reporting and romanticization of the sisters‘ assisted suicide reinforces a social pressure that we have been observing for several years: Older women in particular feel a responsibility not to be a burden on anyone and perceive offers of assisted suicide as a necessary option to consider.”

“Instead of promoting the supposedly easy way out, we need to improve suicide prevention and expand hospice places,” Welskop-Deffaa demanded. “We strongly call for the legal anchoring of suicide prevention measures, such as a ban on advertising for organizations that assist in suicide, along with other legal regulations on assisted suicide.”

This story was first published by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.