In Switzerland, a company that makes suicide pods intends to go public.

SARCO

 

According to the company behind a 3D-printed assisted suicide pod, the technology might be utilized as early as next year in Switzerland.

Legal experts in Switzerland concluded that Sarco's machine did not infringe any laws.

However, his conclusions were contested by other lawyers.

Dignitas, an assisted-suicide group, warned it would not be widely accepted.

Switzerland has legalized assisted suicide, which allows someone to terminate their own life with the assistance of a doctor. About 1,300 people died in 2020 as a result of this method of death.

Either assisted suicide or the practice of doctor-assisted suicide is unlawful in the United Kingdom.

The legal debate

This approach is being utilized in Switzerland, and it involves providing the patient with a sequence of drinks that will kill them if consumed.

However, the nitrogen-filled "pod" can be placed anywhere and quickly reduces oxygen levels.

Approximately 10 minutes into the procedure, the individual inside would lose consciousness and pass away.

Self-destruct mode is activated by pressing a button on the inside of the pod.

An assistant professor at the University of St Gallen, Daniel Huerlimann was commissioned by Sarco to investigate whether the use of the suicide pod would violate any Swiss regulations.

Swiss Therapeutic Products Act does not cover pods like this one, according to his findings, which he shared with the BBC.

Laws controlling the use of nitrogen, firearms, or product safety, didn't concern him because he assumed it would be legal.

As a result, he explained, "the pod is not covered by Swiss legislation."

Professor and doctor Kerstin Noelle Vkinger told Switzerland's Neue Zurcher Zeitung: "Medical gadgets are regulated because they should be safer than other items." No matter how unhealthful a product may be, it is nonetheless subject to these additional safety criteria."

Switzerland has had the practice of professional accompanied suicide with trained staff, in cooperation with physicians, for 35 years now, through the two Swiss Exit groups and for 23 years also with Dignitas," Dignitas informed the BBC.

A technological capsule for a self-determined end of life is unlikely to meet much approval or interest in Switzerland in light of this well-established, safe, and professionally conducted/supported practice.

dr. Death

It will not be sold in the traditional manner if the machine is approved for usage in Switzerland.

He said he would release the design's blueprints online so that anyone could download the design. For no charge, this will be provided.

In an interview published on the website of Exit International, a voluntary assisted dying nonprofit he created, he stated that his goal is to "de-medicalise the dying process."

Individuals should be able to decide how they wish to be treated, rather than relying on a psychiatric evaluation.

Dr Death" is a nickname he has held for a long time because of his advocacy for the right to die.

In the meantime, there are currently two prototypes of the Sarco pod, with a third being printed in the Netherlands.

For Dr. Nitschke's pod, some have argued that its futuristic appearance encourages people to commit suicide.