The famous Star Trek-styled 3D-printed coffin, Sarco Pod, is facing another controversy. The famous Australian physician Dr Philip Nitschke, also known as 'Dr Death", is again in the news. The first time use of the Sarco pod in Switzerland for the assisted suicide of a 64-year-old American woman who had been suffering from a severely compromised immune system resulted in several arrests.
Switzerland is one of the countries that have legalized assisted suicide, and Sarco previously received a legal greenlight in Switzerland. However, the first use resulted in several arrests based on technical violations, including using nitrogen, which conflicts with local regulations on chemical products.
Nitschke's 25-year campaign to "demedicalize death" through 3D printed technology is an alternative to traditional methods used by Switzerland's largest assisted suicide organizations, Exit and Dignitas, which rely on the ingestion of sodium pentobarbital.
The Sarco capsule's creator, Dr. Philip Nitschke, aims to allow anyone to download the design and print it themselves, eliminating the need for medical professionals (or any human form) to be involved.
"If you make something by hand, which we normally do, you can be held accountable because you are helping someone in dying," Alexander Bannink, the designer of the Pod.
How it works:
Sealed inside the machine, a person who has chosen to die must answer three questions: Who are you? Where are you? And do you know what will happen when you press that button?
Then, the Sarco will fill with nitrogen gas. Its occupant will pass out in less than a minute and die by asphyxiation in around five.
Read full news here: https://www.voxelmatters.com/sarco-3d-printed-suicide-pod-used-for-the-first-time-in-switzerland/
The Sarco, created by Dr. Philip Nitschke, founder of Exit International, is a 3D printed capsule that allows individuals to autonomously end their lives.
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