A “death capsule” designed to carry out assisted suicides will be used for the first time this month, Swiss media reports say.
The Sarco, short for sarcophagus, would allow a euthanasia patient inside to press a button and die “in a matter of seconds,” according to the company behind the project, Exit Switzerland.
The case, 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.
Its creator, controversial assisted dying advocate Dr Philip Nitschke, nicknamed “Dr Death”, claims his invention could allow users to die quickly and painlessly.
While the Australian researcher claims his device would give people the chance to end their lives “peacefully”, pro-life groups have warned the capsules, which could be made using a 3D printer, “glamorise suicide”.
An early version of the Sarco Pod, which can be operated internally and works by reducing oxygen levels. No one has used it yet. The final prototype is in the final stages of preparation.
Australian euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke (pictured), also known as “Dr Death”, is a former physician and director of voluntary euthanasia campaigner Exit International.
“Coming soon” reads the Exit Switzerland website below a picture of the suicide capsule, with no further details.
Swiss media outlet NZZ reports that on June 10, Nitschke wrote on an online forum that Sarco was expected to be deployed in Switzerland “in the coming weeks.”
Informed sources told the website that preparations for Exit Switzerland are almost complete and the launch is planned for July.
The candidate for euthanasia has already been selected, sources suggest, and has already travelled to Switzerland.
It is unclear who the person is and Dr. Nitschke and his team have neither confirmed nor denied the reports.
In an interview with MailOnline last year, Dr Nitschke explained how his invention works.
‘The person will get into the machine, be asked three questions and respond verbally: ‘Who are you?’, ‘Where are you?’ and ‘Do you know what happens if you press the button?’
‘And if they answer those questions verbally, the software turns on the device so the button can be pressed.
“And if they press the button they will die very quickly.
“When you get into the Sarco, the oxygen level is 21 percent, but after you press the button it takes 30 seconds to drop to less than one percent.”
The doctor’s plans to use Sarco for the first time have sparked an uproar among some pro-life organizations, including CARE.
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 try to prevent in all circumstances. There are ethical ways of helping human beings that do not involve the destruction of life.
The project has hit numerous obstacles in the past and it is unclear whether Swiss authorities could take legal action over the use of the machine.
Sarco’s creators said in 2021 that it had passed legal review in Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal and hundreds of people use the services of organisations such as Dignitas and Exit (a separate group from Dr Nitschke) every year.
But Kerstin Noëlle Vokinger, a professor of law and medicine at the University of Zurich, has said Sarco may need to be certified under the country’s Medical Devices Act, which is not happening.
Dr Nitschke, as a manufacturer, could therefore be at risk by using Sarco if he were to be sued and a court came to the same conclusions as Vokinger, NZZ reports. A previous legal report stated that he does not infringe any laws.
- For help and support, call the Samaritans free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.
