“If you want to die, press this button,” a voice reads a chilling eight-word message as a user enters the controversial Sarco ‘suicide pod’. The futuristic-looking capsule has sparked a global debate over ethics after an American woman suffering from an autoimmune disease said she wanted to die. Be the first person to use the pod To end your life.
Several people have been arrested on suspicion of inciting, aiding and abetting suicide following the death of a 64-year-old woman on Monday. The portable, 3D-printed pod – dubbed the ‘Tesla of euthanasia’ – was set up in a forest near the Swiss-German border because the woman wanted to see the “trees and sky above her” before she died, reports the Daily Mail.
Trigger warning: The following text contains disturbing material
The brain behind the capsule is Australian doctor Philip Nitschke, better known as Doctor Death, who created the pod to help terminally ill people take their lives. However, Dr Nitschke’s career suffered due to a confrontation with Australian authorities over his beliefs and his medical license was also suspended in 2014.
“She lost consciousness within two minutes and died five minutes later,” Dr Nitschke, who also heads the euthanasia campaign Exit International, told Dutch media.
So how does a ‘suicide pod’ work?
After entering the machine, the user hears a voice say, “If you want to die, press this button.” For specially abled individuals who are unable to press the button, the process can also be activated through eye movement and voice control.
However, once the process is activated by the user, there is no way to stop or reverse it.
The air we usually breathe is 21 percent oxygen and 79 percent nitrogen. Inside the pod, the air is replaced with 100 percent nitrogen.
By pressing a button inside the pod, the oxygen level drops from 21 percent to 0.05 percent in less than 30 seconds. This causes the user to become unconscious and breathing stops in less than ten minutes.
The user’s final moments are recorded by a camera placed inside the pod, and the footage is then handed over to the coroner.
Why is there a controversy over ‘Suicide Pod’?
The device and process have sparked widespread debate on social media, with critics insisting that the pod’s design promotes suicide. Experts have also said that the pod can be operated without any medical supervision, which is worrying.
However, supporters of the device said it expanded access to euthanasia and called it a viable option because it does not rely on drugs or doctors.
The current controversy hinges on the fact that the device was used despite not being approved by Swiss authorities. Authorities have previously warned that those operating suicide pods could face criminal action, including a five-year prison sentence.
This is despite Switzerland being one of the few countries where people can legally travel to end their lives through assisted suicide.