Intended to launch suicide pod in Switzerland

          The company that makes 3D printed pods that could help commit suicide has said it believes it could be used in Switzerland early next year.

SARCO formed a commission of Swiss legal experts, which found that the machine did not break any laws in the country.

But other lawyers questioned the commission's findings.

Dignitas, another suicide aid group, said the pod was unlikely to be widely accepted.

Assistance in committing suicide, which gives someone the option to end their life, is legal in Switzerland. In 2020, about 1,300 people died in this way.

Suicide is forbidden in Islam.


Legal debate

The current method used in Switzerland is to provide the person with a list of liquids that, if drunk, will end the person's life.

In contrast, the suicide pod - which can be placed anywhere - is filled with nitrogen, which rapidly lowers oxygen levels.

This process will cause the person inside to lose consciousness and die in about 10 minutes.

The suicide pod is activated from the inside and has an emergency button to exit.

Sarko asked Daniel Huerlimann, a legal expert and assistant professor at the University of St. Gallen, whether the use of suicide pods would not violate Swiss law.

He told the BBC his findings showed that the pod "did not become a medical device", so it would not be covered under the Swiss Therapeutic Products Act.

It also said it would not violate laws governing the use of nitrogen, weapons or product safety.

"That means Pod does not fall under Swiss law," he said.

But Kirsten Noel Wickinger, a doctor, lawyer and professor at the University of Zurich, told the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung: "Medical devices are regulated because they are considered more secure than other products, simply because a product It's not good for health. That doesn't mean it isn't affected by these additional safety requirements. "

And Dignitas said: "For 35 years, through two Swiss exit groups, and for 23 years with Dignitas, there has been a tradition of suicides in Switzerland with professionals trained by doctors.

"In light of this established, secure and professionally conducted / collaborative practice, we cannot imagine that a technical capsule for self-made end of life would gain much acceptance in Switzerland."

If the machine is advanced for use in Switzerland, the pod will not be sold in the traditional way.

Instead, capsule creator Dr. Philip Nitsky said he plans to make blueprints available so anyone can download the design. It will be available for free.

Its goal is to "de-medicalize the dying process," he said in an interview published on the Exit International website, a voluntary death charity he founded.

"We want to remove any kind of psychological scrutiny from the process and allow the individual to control his own way."

He has long campaigned for the right to die, earning him the nickname "Doctor of Death".

There are currently two models of the Sarko Pod, the third in the Netherlands.

Dr. Nietzsche has been criticized for this pod before, with some saying that its future design could lead to suicide