Last Monday, the controversial “suicide capsule” designed by Netherlands-based doctor Philip Nitschke was used for the first time in a Swiss forest, resulting in the death of a 64-year-old woman.
Te first use of the “Sarco”, as the capsule is called, has led to two arrests, reports the Volkskrant.
“A fast, peaceful, and reliable death”
The Sarco is a capsule designed to help people who decide to end their lives with a fast, painless, and independent death.
It looks like a cabin, with just enough space for a person to lie down inside.
With a view of their choice through the window, they can press a button to gradually fill the cabin with nitrogen, a harmless gas.
📲 The First released images of the 64 year old American woman who used the Sarco suicide pod have emerged on Swiss news outlets, claiming that these were taken moments before the woman entered the pod sparking heated ethical debates around the world and actual arrests of those… pic.twitter.com/fxX5795Xf6
— Dylan Page (@dylanpage910) September 24, 2024
Within minutes, this depletes the oxygen in the capsule, causing the person to lose consciousness and, ultimately, die of hypoxia — a lack of oxygen.
In the words of its inventor, Australian physician Philip Nitschke, the Sarco is a “humane” device that “demedicalises death,” giving people complete self-determination over their death by allowing them to “just drift off.”
“We don’t encourage suicide”
The Last Resort, the Swiss organisation supervising the use of Sarco, maintains that their actions stem from the conviction that “a good death is a fundamental human right.”
As such, they don’t profit off the deaths, and only charge clients for the costs of the Nitrogen and cremation procedures.
READ MORE | 8 weird things about dying in the Netherlands
They also don’t accept applicants younger than 50, and subject their clients to a psychiatric examination to assess their circumstances.
The 64-year-old who used the capsule last Monday, for instance, was an American woman who had wished to terminate her life for over two years, as she was in excruciating pain due to an illness.
“The most progressive climate”
Nitschke, a well-known but highly controversial advocate of the right to self-determination, designed and built the capsule in the Netherlands, as he found that “the most progressive climate in this area prevails there.”
After working on it for twelve years, however, he moved his project to Switzerland, where assisted suicide is permitted under certain conditions.
A legal grey area
Whether the Sarco falls within the boundaries established by Swiss law, however, is yet to be decided.
So far, the Swiss authorities have treated the case as illegitimate, arresting both The Last Resort director Florian Willet, who was present at the suicide, and the Volkskrant photographer who was there to follow the case.
Their concerns are mainly about the Sarco’s compliance with product safety requirements, as well as with the Chemicals Act.
What do you think of this controversial method for assisted suicide? Share your opinion with us in the comments below.
