A ‘death capsule’ designed to carry out assisted suicides has been banned by prosecutors in Switzerland weeks before it was set to be used for the first time.
The Sarco, short for sarcophagus, would enable the euthanasia patient inside it to press a button and die ‘within seconds’, according to the company behind it, Exit Switzerland.
The case – which looks like something out of a sci-fi film and has been described as the ‘Tesla of euthanasia’ – fills with nitrogen to starve the occupant of oxygen, rendering the patient unconscious before they die.
Its creator, controversial assisted dying advocate Dr Philip Nitschke, claims his invention could allow users to die swiftly and painlessly.
But now prosecutors in Switzerland’s Schaffhausen Canton have warned that anyone assisting someone to use the pods could face up to five years behind bars, according to Swiss media reports.
Public Prosecutor Peter Sticher warned of ‘serious consequences’ for Nitschke for ‘inducement and aiding and abetting suicide for selfish reasons’.
In a letter obtained by Swiss media, Sticher said: ‘There is no reliable information about the method of killing.
‘[It is] completely unclear who has control over which mechanical process during the dying process.’
Prosecutors say that under section 115 of the canton’s penal code, it would be impossible to establish who was responsible for the killing and as a result blocked the device’s introduction.
The ban followed after Nitschke revealed in an online forum on June 10 that Sarco’s deployment in Switzerland was expected ‘in the next few weeks.’
He said: ‘The machine can be towed anywhere for the death.
‘It can be in an idyllic outdoor setting or on the premises of an assisted-suicide organisation, for example.’
While the Australian researcher claims that his device would give people the chance to end their lives in a ‘peaceful’ way, pro-life groups have warned that the sleek, furturistic looking pods ‘glamorise suicide’.
Hellbound and Down 