Alarm over 3D-printed suicide capsule

In the canton of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland, near the German border, a capsule-shaped device that allows its user to commit suicide was used for the first time.

In a statement issued by the police, it was noted that prosecutors have launched an investigation into a number of suspects for the crime of "incitement and aiding and abetting suicide." The police announced that the assisted suicide case involving the use of the "suicide capsule" took place yesterday in a forest hut in the municipality of Merishausen in the canton of Schaffhausen.

The "Sarco" suicide capsule, which is produced with a 3D printer and had never been used before, begins to release nitrogen gas into the air when the person sitting inside presses a button. In this way, as the oxygen in the air drops to lethal levels, the user sitting in the capsule loses consciousness and dies from suffocation within a few minutes.

A spokesperson for the organization behind the suicide capsule initiative, called The Last Resort, stated that the person who used the capsule was a 64-year-old American woman suffering from a severely compromised immune system.

The spokesperson for the Switzerland-based organization, which argues that "death is a human right," announced that those arrested by the police include The Last Resort Vice President Florian Willet, a Dutch journalist, and two Swiss nationals. The Dutch newspaper Volkskrant also announced that one of its photographers, who wanted to take photos while the Sarco device was being used, was detained by Swiss police.

The spokesperson for The Last Resort said that Willet was the only person present when the American woman used the suicide capsule. The spokesperson stated that the American woman had also undergone all psychiatric evaluations before ending her life.

In a statement released by the organization called The Last Resort, Willet's remarks describing the American woman's death as "peaceful, fast, and dignified" were included.

Sarco was developed by Philip Nitschke, a former Austrian physician famous for his work on suicide with expert support since the 1990s. The fact that the device can be produced with a 3D printer raises concerns about the possibility of the device being used by children and those who are not of sound mind.

News Source: İHA