Exit International
Content & trigger warning: This article mentions suicide & death, which some readers may find disturbing.
Switzerland has reportedly approved the use of a suicide pod called the Sarco capsule. Sarco is a 3D printed capsule developed by the international non-profit organization Exit International from Australia.
Exit International
The Sarco capsule can be activated by the person sitting inside-it and can be easily towed anywhere, according to a Swissinfo. The pot is designed to be “very comfortable”, the founder Dr. Philip Nitschke of Exit International, said in an interview with Swissinfo. The person will lie down inside capsule & will be asked a few questions, after which they will have time to press the button to activate the process.
Assisted Suicide In Switzerland
A suicide pod may sound shocking & scary, but assisted suicide is actually legal in Switzerland, and around 1,300 people have died using this method where the person is injected with liquid sodium pentobarbital. Here, the person falls asleep within 2-5 minutes, then falls into a deep coma & dies. What Exit International wants is to offer a more comfortable & peaceful death thanks to the Sarco capsule.
How does it work
Once the button is pressed, the capsule will be flooded with nitrogen which will reduce the oxygen level to 1% from 21% in about 30 sec. “The person will feel a little disoriented & may feel slightly euphoric before they lose consciousness,” Nitschke explained in an interview with SwissInfo. After losing consciousness, death would occur around 5 to 10 minutes later, he added. During entire process, the person inside will not feel any sense of panic or suffocation, according to Nitschke.
Exit International has developed 2 prototypes of Sarco and a 3rd is currently being 3D printed in Netherlands. The 3rd Sarco machine should be ready for use in Switzerland by 2022.
