Use of ‘suicide capsule’ suspended pending criminal investigation

Advocacy groups behind a so-called suicide capsule said on Sunday they had suspended the process of accepting applications for its use – there have been over 370 in the past month – as a criminal investigation into its first use in Switzerland concludes, reported the AP. 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.

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 “Sarco” capsule is designed so that a person sitting on a reclining seat inside can 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. (If you or someone you know needs help, the US National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by phone or text at 988.)