Suicide Pod:
As the Sarco machine has passed legal inspection in Switzerland and the Swiss government, its creators are expected to set it up and prepare for operation within the country next year.
Switzerland has allowed a suicide machine’, known as Sarco, which will enable patients to end their lives relatively painlessly by creating hypocapnia and hypoxia (the condition where there is a deficiency in oxygen flow in the tissue level and decreased carbon dioxide levels in the blood, which causes death).
It is shaped like a coffin. The machine allows its users to lower the oxygen levels inside the glass capsule to a critical level in the smallest of movements the glance of an eye, as per an Independent report quoting the makers of the machine.
According to the published report, the procedure takes just one minute and permits the individual to die “relatively comfortably and without pain.”
The most recent advancement in euthanasia devices is specially designed to permit a person to pass away quickly with little discomfort in countries where voluntary euthanasia or assisted suicide is allowed.
While there is a constant debate on the ethical implications of euthanasia and the recourse to such methods, there are a few countries where voluntary deaths are legal for terminally ill patients and may be referred for the same by the doctor or the patient who wishes to die.
In the country of Switzerland, for example, assisted suicide is legally permitted, and around 1300 people were said to have utilized the assistance of euthanasia groups like Dignitas and Exit last year.
But both organizations use liquid barbiturate medications to cause an insidious coma, that is, and then death. The Sarco suicide machine was developed by Dr. Philip Nitschke, dubbed ‘Dr. Death’. It’s an abbreviation for “sarcophagus.” True to the title, the device serves as a grave for the person inside since the biodegradable capsule may disengage itself away from the foundation of the machine to be used as a coffin.
The device has already faced massive criticism, mainly because nitrogen enters the capsule, dislodging oxygen, which causes death. Although some have drawn comparisons to the “gas chamber,” some have criticized its modern design, stating it “glorifies” suicide.
But the fact that the Sarco machine is undergoing the legal test in Switzerland, the creators of the device are expected to set it up for operations in the country next year, based on reports.
