Here’s all the information you need to know about the first person to use a “suicide pod” in Switzerland, a 64-year-old American woman.
Trigger Warning: There are serious themes in this narrative, including suicide mentions.
Recently, a 64-year-old American woman made history by being the first person to use a “suicide pod” in Switzerland, sparking important ethical debates. Authorities arrested a number of persons after this occurrence on suspicion of promoting and assisting suicide. The woman, whose name has not been made public, decided to take her own life on Monday by using the 3D-printed Sarco device.
She died under the trees at a private forest retreat in the Canton of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland, according to a statement released by The Last Resort, the company that makes the pods. The statement also stated that she “had been suffering for many years from a number of serious problems associated with severe immune compromise.”
What is the Sarco pod?
Australian physician Philip Nitschke invented the Sarco pod as a means of ending life with the intention of “de-medicalising the dying process.” The pod employs a detachable capsule made of 3D printing that is placed atop a stand and holds a liquid nitrogen canister. The pod may be filled with nitrogen at the touch of a button, which quickly lowers the oxygen levels and allows the person within to asphyxiate himself to death using inert gas.
According to the BBC, the entire procedure will cause the individual inside to lose consciousness and pass away in around ten minutes. The suicide capsule also features an emergency button for exiting and is operated from the inside. Dr. Philip intends to provide the blueprints at no cost, enabling anyone to download the design. The nitrogen gas canister is said to have cost $20 for the entire procedure.
He formed the charity Exit International, which allows voluntarily assisted suicide, and went on to say, “We want to remove any kind of psychiatric review from the process and allow the individual to control the method themselves.” This earned him the moniker “Dr Death.”
Is this legal?
The Guardian claims that although euthanasia is illegal in Switzerland, adults are allowed to help another person end their life if their motivation is not “selfish.” This is according to the Swiss Criminal Code of 1942. In addition, physicians are permitted to prescribe and give medications for self-administration, and since 1985, groups that facilitate assisted suicide have been operating under certain legal guidelines.
Despite this, the use of the Sarco has not been well received. In response, Dignitas, a non-profit organization in Switzerland that offers physician-assisted suicide, stated that for 35 years, professional accompanied suicide with trained staff has been practiced in Switzerland in collaboration with physicians. Dignitas has been providing this service for 23 years. We doubt that Switzerland will be very interested in or accept a technologically advanced capsule for a self-determined end of life given this well-established, safe, and professionally conducted/supported practice.
In the United States, only eleven states allow medically assisted suicide. A few laws allowing a wider range of healthcare professionals to approve requests for medically assisted dying were passed in 2023.
In India, assisted suicide and euthanasia are prohibited, while passive euthanasia is occasionally permitted. The issue of euthanasia gained national attention when writer and activist Pinki Virani submitted an appeal on behalf of Aruna Shanbaug. Aruna, a Mumbai nurse in her 20s, suffered significant brain damage and went into a vegetative condition after being violently and sexually attacked by a ward boy in 1973. She spent the most of her life confined to a hospital bed until passing away in 2015, yet under the terms of the Shanbaug ruling, the court permitted passive euthanasia.
So what happened in the Swiss case?
The use of the pod at a secluded resort near the Swiss-German border, Merishausen, was reported to the authorities. Criminal procedures against “several people for incitement and aiding and abetting suicide” have been initiated by the Schaffhausen Police. An hour after the assisted suicide occurred, they received word of it. After the body was brought to the forensic institute for an autopsy, the capsule was found. Switzerland has long allowed assisted death under tight guidelines, even if it forbids active euthanasia. Nonetheless, discussions about the ethical and legal ramifications of this unconventional gadget have been sparked by its launch.
