We live in the era of technology, where everyday life changing products are invented and made available to the public. While most new technologies are used to hopefully make life a little easier, others are created to end life when it becomes too difficult. The Sarco suicide pod is one of these inventions.
Created in Switzerland by Exit International, the Sarco suidicide pod is the newest way to perform peaceful assisted suicide. Individuals interested in ending their lives due to medical reasons, such as terminal illness, simply enter the pod, lie down comfortably, and answer a series of questions to ensure their decision is final. Then, at the press of a button which is strategically placed inside the capsule, oxygen levels begin to fall from 21 percent to a mere 1 percent in just 30 seconds.
The sudden drop in oxygen levels will cause the individual to lose consciousness and die without any struggle or choking feeling. Main inventor and leader of Exit International, Dr. Philip Nitschke, describes the feeling as both “disorientating” and “euphoric.” It kind of sounds like this pod is just an extreme version of a whippit.
The chamber is even mobile and can be placed anywhere the patient requests. “The machine can be towed anywhere for the death. It can be in an idyllic outdoor setting or in the premises of an assisted suicide organization,” said Dr. Nitschke.
Switzerland does permit the use of assisted suicide for those wanting an escape. Last year alone, over 1,300 people across the country ended their lives by use of lethal injection, which was also invented by Dr. Nitschke. The Swiss government has yet to approve the pod as a viable option for assisted suicide, but Dr. Nitschke is optimistic the device will be available soon. ““Barring any unforeseen difficulties, we hope to be ready to make Sarco available for use in Switzerland next year.”
