Died in euthanasia machine - several people arrested

Switzerland
Woman died in euthanasia machine - several arrested

Nelly Kronstrand

Updated 18.28 | Published 15.17

The machine named the euthanasia machine. Photo: Ahmad Seir

A woman has died in a new capsule developed for assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Several people have now been arrested.

- She really wanted to die, says Philip Nitschke, who created the Sarco capsule.

The woman who died in the euthanasia machine on Monday was in her 60s and came from the United States.

She had suffered for several years from an immunodeficiency disease according to lawyer Florian Willet, who is one of the founders of the death clinic The Last Resort.

Florian Willet, together with Philip Nitschke, has created the Sarco capsule – which is the machine that was used when the woman died.

According to information to the newspaper Blick, the woman was the first person to use the capsule.

Police confirm: Several arrested

On its website, the company describes how the capsule works.

“Sarco causes death by replacing normal air (21 percent oxygen/79 percent nitrogen) with 100 percent nitrogen. This means that there is no oxygen in the capsule. Without oxygen, a person quickly loses consciousness and dies shortly thereafter. Death is peaceful and reliable”.

According to Florian Willet, he was present during the woman's death. The machine was then located in a private forest in the town of Schaffhausen – which is located on the Swiss-German border.

Afterwards, The Last Resort notified the prosecutor's office that the assisted suicide had taken place.

Subsequently, several people were arrested for aiding and abetting suicide. According to the newspaper Blick, those arrested are a photographer from the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant, two lawyers and Florian Willet.

Police in Switzerland. Archive image. Photo: Pablo Gianiazzi / AP

Re-debated method

The public prosecutor's office believes that the Sarco capsule is not legal to use in assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Among other things, politicians in the country have stated that the capsule violates the Product Safety Act and that the nitrogen to be used in the deaths violates the Chemicals Act.

Using the Sarco capsule as a method in assisted suicide has therefore been re-debated. The newspaper Luznerner Zeitung writes that the organization planned to use the machine in the event of a death already this summer - but that the date was postponed after criticism and threats from canoeists of punishment.

But according to The Last Restort's founders, the machine does not violate Swiss laws.

The founder: Is satisfied

Philip Nitschke, who created the machine, confirms the death and that several people have been arrested.

- I am satisfied that Sarco worked exactly as it was designed to do, namely to enable a voluntary, unmedicated and peaceful death at a time of the person's own choosing.

On its website, The Last Resort writes that the clinic complies with the country's laws, which means, among other things, that the patients' mental health and the reason why the person no longer wants to live are investigated.

Furthermore, the clinic writes that the machine may only be used by people who are 50 years of age or older.

Furthermore, Philip Nitschke describes the woman's death as peaceful.

- When she entered Sarco, she pressed the button almost immediately. She said nothing. She really wanted to die. I estimate that she lost consciousness within two minutes and died after five minutes. It turned out exactly as we expected.