First Known Use of ‘Suicide Pod’ Leads to Arrests in Switzerland

Switzerland is the most liberal country in the world when it comes to “assisted suicide,” but even there, a 3D-printed so-called suicide pod has been greeted with some opposition. The rhetoric escalated into arrests yesterday, after someone ended their life using the Sarco device in apparently the first case of its kind, reports the BBC.

Exit International, an assisted suicide group based in the Netherlands that is behind the pod, said that a 64-year-old woman from the midwestern United States ended her life using the device in a rural part of Switzerland near the German border. She reportedly suffered from “severe immune compromise,” according to the organization as reported by AP.

Swiss police have detained several people in connection with the suicide, including a photographer from a Dutch newspaper who was at the scene to take pictures of the Sarco pod being used for the first time.

The rules of assisted suicide

Swiss law allows assisted suicide as long as the person takes their life with no external assistance and those helping the person to die are not doing so for “any self-serving motive,” writes AP. Australian physician Philip Nitschke, who is behind Exit International, has said that he believed use of the device would be legal in Switzerland based on advice from Swiss lawyers. Others have said that the pod is not classified as a medical device and, therefore, is not covered by the law. Clarity may come as this situation unfolds, but it will undoubtedly take some time.

Related:3D Printing Trends to Watch in 2024

Suicide is painless, claim advocates

The Sarco pod — Sarco is short for sarcophagus — consists of a 3D-printed detachable capsule that is hooked up to a canister of liquid nitrogen. The person seeking to end their life triggers release of the gas, which rapidly decreases oxygen levels to induce unconsciousness and ultimately death. The technique reportedly prevents the user from experiencing any sense of panic, suffocation, or struggling.

Advocates say the Sarco pod provides an option not reliant on drugs or doctors, and that it expands access to euthanasia, as the portable device can be 3D printed and assembled at home. Nitschke has told the media that he plans to make blueprints of the device available to anyone who wants it as a free download.