Switzerland has just legalized a new way to die by assisted suicide.
The Sarco suicide capsule, to be used in assisted suicide, has passed legal review in Switzerland and may legally be operated in the country. Assisted suicide is different from active euthanasia which is still illegal in Switzerland. However, supplying the means for committing suicide is legal, as long as the action which directly causes death is performed by the one wishing to die. ‘It’s a 3-D printed capsule, activated from the inside by the person intending to die. The machine can be towed anywhere for the death. It can be in an idyllic outdoor setting or in the premises of an assisted suicide organisation, for example,’ said Dr Philip aka Dr Death Nitschke, who developed the capsule. The ‘Sarco’ is a device ‘to provide people with a death when they wish to die, which is peaceful and reliable but also elegant and stylish’. Approximately 1,300 people died by assisted suicide in Switzerland in 2020. Currently, the method used for this is the ingestion of liquid ...