Advocacy groups are suspending the use of a “suicide capsule” until Swiss criminal police investigate its first use

Advocacy groups behind a so-called suicide capsule said on Sunday they had suspended the process of accepting applications to use it – over 370 in the last month – as a criminal investigation into its first use in Switzerland concludes .

The president of Switzerland-based organization The Last Resort, Florian Willet, is in custody, said the group and Exit International, an affiliate founded in Australia more than a quarter century ago.

Swiss police arrested Willet and several other people following the death on September 23 of an unidentified 64-year-old woman from the Midwestern United States who became the first person to use the device known as a “Sarco” in a forest in the northern region of Schaffhausen near Germany Border.

According to the authorities, other people who were initially arrested were released from custody.

___ EDITOR’S NOTE – This story includes a discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, you can reach the U.S. National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling 988 or texting them. There is also online chat at 988lifeline.org. The Swiss government directs inquiries about suicide prevention to a group called “Dargebotene Hand” or “The Offered Hand.” ___

Switzerland has some of the most permissive laws in the world when it comes to assisted suicide, although the first use of the “Sarco” has sparked debate among lawmakers.

Laws in the wealthy Alpine country allow assisted suicide as long as the person takes their own life without “external help” and those who help the person die do not do so “for selfish motives.”

The stakeholders said in a statement on Sunday that as of September 23, 371 people were “in the process of applying” to use the Sarco in Switzerland and the applications were suspended after the first use.

Exit International, whose founder Dr. Philip Nitschke, based in the Netherlands, is behind the 3D printed device, which cost over $1 million to develop.

The “Sarco” capsule is designed to allow a person sitting on a reclining seat inside to press a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber, causing the person to fall asleep and suffocate within minutes.

Exit International said Willet was the only person present when the woman died and described the death as “peaceful, quick and dignified”. These claims could not be independently verified.