A 64-year-old American woman has killed herself, becoming the first person to use the controversial capsule.
The Sarco capsule takes the form of a small cabin where the person wishing to end their life lies down. Before activating a button that releases nitrogen, they must answer several questions designed to ensure that they are fully conscious of their decision. According to the association that defends this device, the person loses consciousness after a few breaths and dies within a few minutes.
This Monday, at 4:40 p.m., the authorities were alerted by a law firm that an assisted suicide using this device had taken place earlier in the afternoon, in a forest cabin located in Merishausen, in the canton of Schaffhausen, in the north of Switzerland, reports the newspaper Le Matin.
A 64-year-old American woman has killed herself, becoming the first person to use the controversial and illegal capsule in Switzerland.
The cantonal police, accompanied by the forensic service and the cantonal public prosecutor’s office, intervened at the scene.
Arrests and autopsy
The Sarco capsule was confiscated and the body of the deceased was taken away for an autopsy. Several people were arrested near Merishausen and taken into custody. The public prosecutor’s office has opened a criminal investigation into incitement and complicity in suicide, and is also investigating whether other laws were violated.
Originally from the Midwest, the deceased had “a very serious illness causing unbearable pain.” She had two sons who “fully approved” of her decision to resort to euthanasia. She reportedly came to Switzerland alone to use the Sarco capsule as part of an assisted suicide.
Information revealed by the Dutch newspaper from the People’s Republicwhose team, including a photographer, was on site to document this unprecedented event.
“The dying process went well”
The operation was carried out clandestinely by Exit International, an organisation led by Australian activist Philip Nitschke, and its Swiss branch The Last Resort, coordinated by a couple of Swiss lawyers.
“THE death process went well“, said Nitschke, who followed the death live from Germany, thanks to a camera installed in the capsule… “When she entered the Sarco, she almost immediately pressed the button. She didn’t say anything. She really wanted to die. I estimate that she lost consciousness within two minutes and died after five minutes,” he explained to from the People’s Republic.
Philip Nitschke said the now deceased had said she had wanted to die for at least two years, that she had all her mental faculties and had paid 18 francs for the nitrogen and the funeral costs.
“Through a window, the woman was able to see nature during her last moments. She could see the sky and the trees surrounding the capsule,” the Dutch newspaper wrote.
In July, officials presented the capsule, expressing their intention to carry out a first use in Switzerland, sparking a lively debate. Although assisted suicide is legal in the Confederation, it usually requires the presence of a doctor.
