Before an American woman became the first person to die via a suicide pod, the creator shared a 10-word warning.
The Sarco pods, designed by Dr. Philip Nitschke – commonly referred to as “Dr. Death” – offer a new method of assisted suicide, providing users a way to end their lives autonomously.
The Sarco pod has been used for the first time. Credit: thelastresort.ch
The device, which induces death by oxygen deprivation through nitrogen gas, is intended to provide a painless, self-administered death.
According to a report by BBC News, the pod allows users to initiate the process without the need for medical professionals or drugs.
As reported by News.com.au, a 64-year-old American woman has become the first person to die using the controversial Sarco suicide pod.
The woman reportedly died “almost immediately” on Monday in the device, located near a forest hut in Merishausen, northern Switzerland, under a canopy of trees.
Dr. Nitschke, speaking to Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, commented on her determination to end her life: “When she entered the Sarco, she almost immediately pressed the button. She didn’t say anything. She really wanted to die.”
Nitschke estimated that the woman lost consciousness within two minutes and was dead within five.
“We saw jerky, small twitches of the muscles in her arms, but she was probably already unconscious by then. It looked exactly how we expected it to look,” he added.
The former physician, who has long campaigned for legalized euthanasia, criticized society’s approach to death.
“It seems we demand humans to live with indignity, pain, and anguish whereas we are kinder to our pets when their suffering becomes too much,” Nitschke said in 2009.
He has often challenged long-standing religious and ethical objections to assisted suicide, calling them “illogical” and “immature.”
The American woman, whose name has not been released, left a four-minute audio message for The Last Resort before her death.
According to De Volkskrant, she stated that she had been “immune compromised” and in “severe pain” for at least two years.
She also shared that her two sons, who were not present at the time of her death, supported her decision “100 percent.”
The Sarco pod was created by Dr. Philip Nitschke. Credit: David Mariuz/Getty Images
Despite the legal hurdles, Dr. Nitschke and his team argue that the Sarco pod provides an alternative to assisted dying that does not require medical supervision or pharmaceuticals.
The pod can be 3D-printed and assembled at home, making it portable and accessible for those seeking an assisted death in different settings.
Dr. Nitschke issued a grim warning earlier this year when unveiling the device: “Once the button is pressed, there is no way back,” per the New York Post.
A German scientist, Florian Willet, who helped create the Sarco pod, echoed Nitschke’s sentiments and said he would “probably use the Sarco myself instead of living through my last days in a miserable state while seriously ill.”
Following the American woman’s death, authorities recovered both the device and the body at a forest hut in Merishausen, near the German border.
Swiss police stated that several people were detained on suspicion of incitement and aiding and abetting suicide.
