An American woman who was set to become the first person to die in a “suicide capsule” before she disappeared has now died for other reasons, her friends have revealed.
Jennifer McLaughlin, 55, had travelled to Switzerland to use the ‘Sarco’ capsule, which its creators say allows its occupant to press a button and cause their own death.
But the capsule’s inventor, controversial assisted dying advocate Philip Nitschke, said his planned death had been “permanently postponed”.
Despite this, Ms McLaughlin emailed her lawyer and closest friends to tell them she would be undergoing a “procedure” to take her own life.
She She then disappeared as friends desperately tried to contact her and her disappearance was reported to police, before her death was confirmed last night.
It is believed that she may have sought help from another assisted dying organisation.
Jennifer McLaughlin, 55, had travelled to Switzerland to use the ‘Sarco’ capsule to take her own life, before being refused use of the machine.
The ‘Sarco’ capsule, which according to its creators allows its occupant to press a button and trigger his own death.
The former insurance company worker from Columbus, Georgia, began experiencing “significant health problems” in 2017, and her attorney said she “never really recovered.”
Barrister Fife Whitehouse, who has been a friend and legal adviser to Ms McLaughlin for 15 years, shared a touching tribute to her after hearing the “painful” news.
“(Jennifer) was a wonderfully quirky, articulate and intelligent person, someone who would be hard to forget,” he told MailOnline.
“She was one of those people whose loss makes the world a little darker. It saddens all of us who knew her.”
McLaughlin spent three months in the hospital in 2017, he said. Several years later, he lost his beloved mother, who had been by his side throughout his failing health.
The U.S. Embassy in Switzerland confirmed McLaughlin’s death in the country in a statement Monday night.
He was reported to have died on Friday after receiving care from a Swiss assisted dying organisation that was not Exit International, the company behind Sarco.
It is not known when Ms McLaughlin decided to take her life, but she travelled to Switzerland earlier this summer with the intention of becoming the first person to use the Sarco capsule.
Jennifer McLaughlin is photographed in Switzerland before her death this month
The machine, named after a sarcophagus, is designed to allow the euthanized patient inside to press a button and die “within seconds,” according to Nitschke’s company, Exit International.
The capsule, which looks like something out of a science fiction movie and has been compared to a Tesla car, is filled with nitrogen to deprive the occupant of oxygen, rendering them unconscious before dying.
Reports surfaced in early July that the first patient would be using the device within a month, but Exit and its subsidiary The Last Resort later held a press conference saying it would instead be “within a year.”
Prospective users would have to complete an online survey before receiving a module location and access code, such as a drop box.
Australian euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke (pictured), also known as “Dr Death”, is a former physician and director of voluntary euthanasia campaigner Exit International.
Then, inside the capsule, they confirm who they are, where they are, and whether they know what happens when they press the button.
If they continue, a flood of nitrogen will reduce the oxygen level from 21 percent to just one percent, supposedly killing them within 30 seconds.
Nitschke said he designed the Sarco to create a “peaceful, reliable, drug-free” method of assisted dying.
“Death occurs by hypoxia and hypocapnia, deprivation of oxygen and carbon dioxide, respectively. There is no panic or asphyxiation,” he said, insisting that the capsule had been subjected to extensive testing.
He has even said that he will “probably use the Sarco” in his final days rather than be “in a miserable state while seriously ill.”
Swiss prosecutors had previously warned that anyone helping someone use the capsules could face up to five years in prison.
Schaffhausen cantonal public prosecutor Peter Sticher warned of “serious consequences” for Nitschke for “incitement, complicity and suicide for selfish reasons.”
In a letter obtained by Swiss media, Sticher said: “There is no reliable information about the method of murder.
“It is not entirely clear who has control over which mechanical process during the dying process.”
The doctor’s plans to use Sarco for the first time also caused a stir among pro-life organizations.
James Mildred, director of engagement at CARE, said: ‘Philip Nitschke’s device has been condemned by a wide range of commentators.
‘Many people believe that it trivializes and even glamorizes suicide.
We believe that suicide is a tragedy that good societies seek to prevent in all circumstances.
‘There are ethical ways to help human beings that do not involve the destruction of life.’
- For help and support, call the Samaritans free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.
