People who use the Sarco suicide capsule will hear a chilling eight-word message before pressing a button to end their own life.
The capsule is designed to allow the person inside to press a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber, causing hypoxia and death shortly thereafter.
After pressing the button, it takes a total of ten minutes for the user to die, shortly after losing consciousness.
Australian creator Philip Nitschke (nicknamed Doctor Doom by right-to-life opponents) explained that a chilling message will play inside the 3D capsule.
After entering the machine, the person inside will hear a voice saying: “If you want to die, press this button,” according to AFP.
A view of the Sarco suicide machine, a 3D-printed capsule that gives the user maximum control over the moment of their death.
The capsule works by replacing the air, which is 21 percent oxygen and 79 percent nitrogen, with 100 percent nitrogen. This quickly renders the occupant unconscious and they then stop breathing in a process that takes less than ten minutes.
A view shows the login screen and the pure nitrogen release button on the Sarco suicide machine
There are several ways the process can be activated within the capsule, including eye movement and voice control for those who are less mobile.
However, once the capsule is activated, there is no way to stop or reverse the process, First Post reports.
This comes shortly after a former RAF engineer and his wife said they were signing up to become the first British couple to use the double suicide capsule, due to be launched later this year.
Peter and Christine Scott, who have been married for 46 years, made the decision after former nurse Christine, 80, was diagnosed with early-stage vascular dementia.
The couple want to travel to Switzerland to die in each other’s arms in the death capsule, known as Sarco, to mark the end of their long and happy marriage.
At an emotional family meeting, the couple shared their fears of spending their final years on a failing NHS, as well as losing their home and savings due to expensive healthcare costs.
After this summit, his son and daughter reluctantly said they would respect his choice.
Peter, 86, and Christine, who have six grandchildren, are now in the process of registering with The Last Resort, a Switzerland-based organisation offering assisted dying at the Sarco, which opened in July.
The Scots say they will wait until the machine’s new sister model is launched later this year.
Users will hear a chilling message saying “If you want to die, press this button,” according to AFP (Pictured: An O2 detector and the pure nitrogen release button on the Sarco suicide machine)
Peter and Christine Scott, married for 46 years, made the decision to sign up to use the double suicide capsule that will be launched later this year.
The couple made the decision after former nurse Christine, 80, was diagnosed with early-stage vascular dementia several weeks ago (pictured: Peter and Chris Scott about 35 years ago)
In a candid interview at their home in the Suffolk village, they previously revealed their plans in the hope of adding weight to the campaign to legalise assisted dying in the UK.
“We’ve lived long, happy, healthy, fulfilling lives, but here we are, in old age, and that doesn’t bring you good results,” Peter said.
‘The idea of watching Chris’s mental abilities slowly decline in parallel with my own physical decline is horrifying to me.
‘Obviously I would care for her to the point where I couldn’t, but she has cared for enough people with dementia during her career to be adamant that she wants to remain in control of herself and her life.
‘Assisted dying gives you that opportunity and I wouldn’t want to go on living without it.
‘We understand that other people may not share our feelings and we respect their position. What we want is the right to choose. I find it deeply depressing that we cannot do that here in the UK.
‘But if we consider the alternative, the chances of getting quick NHS treatment for the ailments of old age seem pretty remote, so we end up stuck with illness and pain.
‘I don’t want to go to a health care facility, lie in bed drooling and incontinent – that’s not what I call life.
“In the end, the government steps in and takes your savings and your house to pay for everything.”
Australian-born Philip Nitschke (pictured), the device’s creator, has been nicknamed Doctor Doom by right-to-life opponents.
Philip Nitschke lies in a ‘suicide capsule’ known as ‘The Sarco’ in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on July 8, 2024
The Sarco was invented at the request of British stroke victim Tony Nicklinson, who was left conscious but unable to move or speak after suffering a stroke.
Peter is currently struggling with all the paperwork required for the full application.
She is afraid of Christine’s request because assisted suicide is more difficult to obtain for patients with dementia than for people with other illnesses, such as terminal cancer.
The Sarco was originally invented at the request of British stroke victim Tony Nicklinson, who was left conscious but unable to move or speak after suffering a stroke.
He approached Nitschke to create a death capsule that could operate in the blink of an eye, the only communication he had left.
Nicklinson, who pleaded with the courts to allow him to die legally but was denied, eventually starved himself to death in 2012, before Sarco was created.
Most recently, the first person to use the device pressed the button “almost immediately,” according to the device’s creator.
The capsule was located in a forest near a cabin in Merishausen, northern Switzerland, and the capsule’s window allowed the 64-year-old woman to see the trees before she died.
“It looked exactly like we expected it to look. I guess he lost consciousness within two minutes and died after five minutes,” said Dr Philip Nitschke. Dutch media.
“We saw small contractions and sudden movements of the muscles in his arms, but he was probably already unconscious at that time.”
The user is believed to be a mother of two from the Midwest who was suffering from a “very serious illness” with “severe pain.”
According to Dutch media, the woman had wanted to die for at least two years.
Police were called to the scene after being notified of his death and subsequently arrested several people.
Among those arrested were a director of The Last Resort, the firm behind the Sarco, as well as two lawyers and a newspaper photographer who had been taking pictures of the capsule.
The Schaffhausen cantonal prosecutor said the creators of Sarco had been warned not to use the device in their region.
“We warned them in writing,” said prosecutor Peter Sticher. “We told them that if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco, they would face criminal consequences.”
According to the Dutch newspaper People’s Reportwho had been following the case, the woman who died in the machine made an oral statement to The Last Resort saying it was her own wish to end her life.
- UK: For help and support, call the Samaritans free of charge from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.
- US: If you or someone you know needs help, the US National Suicide and Crisis Helpline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
