This month, a “death capsule” designed to perform euthanasia will be deployed for the first time, Swiss media report.
According to the company behind the Sarco, Exit Switzerland, the euthanasia patient inside could press a button and die “within seconds.”
The suitcase, 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, causing the patient to become unconscious before dying.
Its inventor, controversial euthanasia advocate Dr. Philip Nitschke, also known as ‘Dr. Death’, claims his invention can allow users to die quickly and painlessly.
While the Australian researcher claims his device gives people the chance to end their lives in a “peaceful” way, pro-life groups warn the pods, which could be made using a 3D printer, “glorify suicide”.
An early version of the Sarco Pod, which can be operated internally and works by lowering the oxygen level. No one has used it yet. The final prototype is in the final stages of preparation
Australian euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke (pictured), also known as ‘Dr Death’, is a former physician and head of the voluntary euthanasia campaign Exit International
On the Exit Switzerland website, under a photo of the suicide capsule, the text “Coming soon” is given, but no further details are given.
The Swiss news agency NZZ reports that Nitschke wrote on an online forum on June 10 that Sarco would be sent to Switzerland “within a few weeks.”
Well-informed sources have told the website that preparations for Exit Switzerland have largely been completed and the launch is scheduled for July.
According to sources, the candidate for euthanasia has been selected and has already traveled 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 climbs into the machine, is asked three questions and answers verbally: ‘Who are you?’, ‘Where are you?’ and ‘Do you know what happens if you press the button?’
‘And when they answer those questions verbally, the software turns on the power and the button can be pressed.
‘And if they press the button, they die very quickly.
“When you climb into Sarco, the oxygen level is 21 percent. But after you press the button, it takes 30 seconds for the oxygen level to drop to less than one percent.”
The doctor’s plans to use Sarco for the first time have sparked outrage from 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 feel that this trivializes or even glorifies suicide.
“We believe that suicide is a tragedy that good societies try to prevent under all circumstances. There are ethical ways to help people that do not involve the destruction of life.”
The project has hit a number of snags in the past, including whether Swiss authorities will be able to prosecute the use of the machine.
Sarco’s founders reported in 2021 that it had passed legal scrutiny in Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal and hundreds of people use the services of organizations like Dignitas and Exit (a separate group from Dr. Nitschke’s) 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, but that is not the case.
As a manufacturer, Dr. Nitschke could therefore take a risk by using Sarco if he were to be reported and a court came to the same conclusions as Vokinger, NZZ reports. A legal report previously stated that it did not violate any laws.
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