Use Of Sarco 'Suicide' Pod Suspended Amid Swiss Criminal Investigation

Advocacy groups behind the controversial ‘Sarco' suicide pod have suspended applications for its use, pending a criminal investigation into its first deployment in Switzerland. The decision comes after a 64-year-old American woman died using the device. At least 371 applications submitted till September 23 will remain on hold until the conclusion of the probe.

Florian Willet, president of The Last Resort, a Switzerland-based advocacy group, is currently in pretrial detention, according to the organisation and Exit International, an Australian-founded affiliate. Swiss police arrested Willet and several others following the woman's death on September 23 in a forest in Schaffhausen, near the German border. Authorities have since released the other detainees, though the investigation continues.

Read: Sarco Suicide Pod: How The Controversial Capsule Functions

The Sarco, developed by Exit International, allows individuals to end their lives through inert gas asphyxiation. Short for “sarcophagus”, the Sarco pod is a 3D-printed, self-operated capsule designed to facilitate assisted suicide through nitrogen-induced hypoxia. The individual sits in the capsule, which fills with nitrogen gas, reducing the oxygen level to fatal amounts, resulting in death by suffocation within minutes.

Advocates, including Exit International's founder Philip Nitschke, argue that the Sarco offers a “peaceful, fast, and dignified” end of life. However, these claims have yet to be independently verified.

On the day of the US woman's death, Swiss Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider addressed lawmakers, declaring the use of the Sarco “not legal.” The incident sparked debate in Switzerland, where assisted suicide is permissible subject to a set of rules.

The device, which cost over $1 million to develop, was first introduced in Switzerland in 2019. The application process requires individuals to pass a psychiatric assessment and answer a series of questions within the capsule to ensure they are aware of the consequences of their decision.

“Only after the Sarco was used was it learned that Ms Baume-Schneider had addressed the issue,” the groups said in a statement, as per CNN. “The timing was a pure coincidence and not our intention.”

Switzerland's long-standing laws on assisted suicide have positioned the country as a “death tourism” destination, with individuals travelling from around the world seeking control over their end-of-life choices. The Sarco's creator, Philip Nitschke, has been a prominent figure in the euthanasia debate since the 1990s. He maintains that the capsule offers a humane and autonomous way to die, free from medical intervention.