Sarco pod is an electronic device that assists a person in less painfully dying or committing self-destruction and has been legalized in Switzerland. Death is considered a painful experience and many people fear death. However, with the launch of this device, painless death isn’t a dream anymore.
Sarco commissioned a Swiss legal expert, who authorized the device stating that it didn’t break any laws. In 2019 a report was issued according to which, Switzerland had 9.8 suicide rates per 100,000 inhabitants. Moreover, 33.6% of the suicides in make population are conducted with firearms.
From 2020 to 2023, the self-destruction rate in Switzerland plunged to 14.50%. Even after the project was legalized, the Sarco device controversy remained globally as numerous lawyers didn’t agree with it.
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Sarco Pod
The Sarco pod is a 3D printer, a coffin-shaped device that can be ordered and placed anywhere. Dignitas, the suicide-assisting machine spokesperson said in a statement that their product might not receive “much acceptance.”
In 2022, real experiments in this digital coffin have been scheduled. The inspiration for making this device is strongly connected to increasing suicide rates globally. In Switzerland, assisted suicides aren’t considered illegal. Assisted self-destruction means that somebody has the right to end their life and it’s not considered a taboo. In 2020, 1300 people died by attempting suicide.
In the UK, suicides as well as euthanasia (when a doctor ends the life of a chronically ill patient after obtaining the consent of the patient to die) are legal.
Also Read: Life Beyond the Earth
How to Use a Sarco Pod?
Before the Sarco device invention, people committed suicide when they received a series of chemicals specified for ending the lives of people. In contrast to that, the Sarco pod can be placed anywhere. The coffin-shaped box has nitrogen gas in it, which lowers the oxygen level on switching on the device.
The nitrogen gas starts accumulating in the box and oxygen is reduced to the minimum level. Humans can’t breathe without oxygen in the air. Due to a decrease in oxygen levels, the person in it dies within 10 minutes after switching off the device.
Any person inside this life-destructive capsule doesn’t feel any distress or discomfort. Due to oxygen deprivation, the person falls unconscious in a few minutes and then dies peacefully in their sleep.
How did Sarco Device Pass the Legal Authorization?
Daniel Huerlimann is the legal specialist and associate professor at the University of St Gallen. Daniel Huerlimann was asked to verify whether the Swiz Sarco device broke any laws or if would it be illegal to use this digital suicide-assisting device.
Later, Daniel also said in a statement he has been working for 35 years now and participated in two Swiss Exit groups. Apart from that, he has been working with Dignitas for 23 years. Switzerland has successfully provided professionals with trained staff to assist people with suicide. The professionals also take the aid of physicians.
Likewise, the capsule has also been modified through trials, professional processes, support practices, and clinical trials. The company is optimistic about its wide acceptance in Switzerland as it provides a chance for self-determined people to die peacefully.
Krestin Noelle Vkinger negated this claim. Krestin Vkinge works as a professional doctor, lawyer, and professor at the University of Zurich. Moreover, she told Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper that medical tools are much safer than digital devices. She explained that medical devices are particularly designed for the welfare of humans, but products are designed for trading in the market.
The director of the Kenny Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, Daniel Sulmasy also condemned the death capsule. Daniel Sulmasy started the luxurious car-like design and 3-D printed death encourages mentally ill or disturbed people to commit suicide.
Additionally, it can also lead to suicide contagion (a phenomenon in which hearing that people are attempting suicide induces other people to have suicidal thoughts and they could even commit it).
Will the Sarco Pod be Available to Everyone?
Dr. Phillip Nitschke is the founder of the Sarco capsule. Dr. Phillip said that the capsule wouldn’t be up for sale but it would be available to everyone for free. The doctor is planning to make the blueprints of the device available to everyone, so anyone can download the design.
Dr. Phillip aims to do charity by helping people who aren’t able to take life head-on. He aims to “demedicalize the dying process” and remove any kind of psychiatric review for the one committing the suicide. The company aims to let the person decide when to die while controlling his death procedure.
A disability advocate. Stephen Duckworth disagreed with Dr. Phillips’ decision to make the blueprint of the Sarco device available to everyone. According to Stephen Duckworth, a child, a mentally unstable person or an offender can use this device.
No matter who uses it, there will always be safety concerns. There is a chance of a person not dying according to the process and ends up being locked in the capsule. Such concerns created anxiety and flared criticism on Sarco pod.
Presently, there are two Sarco Pods prototypes, while the third one is under construction in the Netherlands.
Who is Doctor Death?
Doctor Death is the person who presented the idea of making the suicide assisting device, Dr. Philip Nitschke. For legalizing the right to die, he has received this nickname associated with his invention of the suicide capsule.
Dr. Nitschke’s invention is strongly condemned as it glamorizes suicide and encourages one to take their life. The doctor himself proclaimed that it’s a “stylish and elegant” way to end one’s life.
What do you think, is the Sarco capsule which assists in suicide should be legalized or not?
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