Featured Image Credit: ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images / Exit International
Topics: Health
Dylan Murray
Topics: Health
Recently, the first person to use a real-life suicide pod has done so, dying almost instantly in the process.
Assisted suicide is a highly controversial subject across the world, but the creation of a suicide pod has many up in arms and uncertain how to feel, especially now that it has successfully claimed its first life.
The suicide pod, properly known as the Sarco pod, ended the 64-year-old woman’s life by replacing oxygen with nitrogen gas, a painless death that happened almost immediately. The pod, located in northern Switzerland, was subsequently taken by authorities, who launched a criminal investigation into the incident.
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However, the woman who took her own life reportedly sent a video recording to The Last Resort to talk about her situation ahead of her passing. While the video isn’t available to the public, sources say the now-deceased woman laid out her reasoning for using the Sarco pod earlier this week.
Reports say that the American woman explained her some of her medical history in the video, noting that she had been dealing with a severe illness and that the Sarco pod was the best way to end her continuous suffering. Furthermore, according to the Swiss news site De Volkskrant, the woman's two sons were in full support of her difficult decision to take her own life.
Many supporters of assisted dying policies have been left confused by the criminal investigation launched at the administrators of the Sarco pod, as assisted suicide is legal under various circumstances in Switzerland. In fact, Switzerland has been known for being a country with strong protections of assisted dying policies, with hundreds of people traveling to the country each year to do so.
However, this instance of assisted suicide falls into two grey areas when it comes to legality. Firstly, because euthanasia, the direct killing of another person, whether consensual or not, remains illegal, the administrators of the Sarco pod could be accused of such a crime.
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Second of all, because using the Sarco pod can technically be done without a doctor's supervision and oversight, many believe it is an unethical and dangerous device that should not exist.
Despite these two issues, defenders of the device maintain that it should be usable, as it offers the option to end your life for a smaller fee than most medically supervised suicide clinics in Switzerland. Because many of these clinics charge well over $13,000, the Sarco pod’s $20 price tag makes it a more financially realistic option for those who want to take their own lives when it is deemed necessary.