The Sarco suicide capsule, to be used in assisted suicide, has passed legal review in Switzerland and may legally be operated in the country.
Switzerland has allowed assisted suicide with unselfish motives since 1942.
metro.co.uk/2021/12/06/3d-…
Switzerland has allowed assisted suicide with unselfish motives since 1942.
metro.co.uk/2021/12/06/3d-…
Assisted suicide is different from active euthanasia which is still illegal in Switzerland.
However, supplying the means for committing suicide is legal, as long as the action which directly causes death is performed by the one wishing to die.
However, supplying the means for committing suicide is legal, as long as the action which directly causes death is performed by the one wishing to die.
The ‘Sarco’ machine has been developed by Exit International, a non-profit organisation advocating for the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide.
‘It’s a 3-D printed capsule, activated from the inside by the person intending to die.'
‘It’s a 3-D printed capsule, activated from the inside by the person intending to die.'
'The machine can be towed anywhere for the death. It can be in an idyllic outdoor setting or in the premises of an assisted suicide organisation’ said Dr Philip Nitschke, who developed the capsule.
Approximately 1,300 people died by assisted suicide in Switzerland in 2020.
Approximately 1,300 people died by assisted suicide in Switzerland in 2020.
Currently, the method used for this is the ingestion of liquid sodium pentobarbital which puts the person to sleep before they slip into a deep coma, followed by death.
Sarco claims to take a different approach for a peaceful death, without the need for controlled substances.
Sarco claims to take a different approach for a peaceful death, without the need for controlled substances.
‘The benefit for the person who uses it is that they don’t have to get any permission, they don’t need some special doctor to try and get a needle in, and they don’t need to get difficult drugs to obtain,’ Nitschke said in a Sarco demonstration last year.
Once activated, the capsule floods the interior with nitrogen and rapidly reduces oxygen, causing the individual to lose consciousness and, ultimately, pass away without choking or panicking.
Once the process is complete, the biodegradable capsule can then be detached from the machine’s base in order to serve as the deceased person’s coffin.
In the Netherlands, euthanasia can be requested by anyone over the age of 12 living with ‘unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement’. Children under 16 still need parental consent.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
