The inventor of the ‘suicide pod’ has revealed in fascinating detail how the controversial machine starts to kill its occupant within just two breaths.
Australia-born physician Dr Philip Nitschke created the coffin-like Sarco device to offer patients a way to end their lives painlessly by depriving them of oxygen.
In practice, patients climb into the pod and, after pushing a button, nitrogen gas then floods the interior leading to loss of consciousness and death within 10 minutes.
The Sarco was used for the first time in Switzerland in September last year by a 64-year-old American woman in an incident which led to several arrests.
Now, speaking on the ‘How it Ticks‘ podcast, Netherlands-based Dr Nitschke has explained exactly what happens once the gas is released inside the pod.
‘You’re in a zero oxygen environment, breathing easily, it’s just that there’s no oxygen,’ he said. ‘You faint, basically. Within two breaths, you lose consciousness.
‘Then, step by step, different essential activities controlled by the brain [shut] down.
‘And finally your heart stops usually about five or 10 minutes in that zero oxygen environment, but your unconsciousness for the vast majority of it.’
The inventor of the Sarco ‘suicide pod’ has revealed how the controversial machine starts to kill its occupant within just two breaths, and that it was inspired by a plastic bag
Host Mike Connors asks: ‘So there’s no struggle from the body, gasping for oxygen?’
Dr Nitschke responds that that, to the contrary, people ‘lose consciousness very fast and stay that way until they die.’
He admits, however, that some ‘muscle contractions’ do take place during this process which can be ‘disconcerting’ to people watching.
‘You see some uncoordinated movements of the limbs, which can be a bit disconcerting to someone present who doesn’t, or hasn’t realised the person is deeply unconscious.
‘But usually [people are reassured] when we can explain that you might see movement, but don’t think that’s a person, you know, finding a horrible time and being tortured to death.
‘This is someone who’s having an involuntary series of involuntary muscle activity.
The inaugural use of the pod in September, by the unnamed American, was marred by allegations she had ‘strangulation marks’, claims which Dr Nitschke previously described as ‘absurd’.
Dr Nitschke wasn’t present when the woman died, instead watching the event online, however several arrests were made in the aftermath including that of Dr Florian Willet, the president of Swiss Sarco operator The Last Resort.
Dr Philip Nitschke created the coffin-like Sarco pod which is designed to offer patients a way to end their lives painlessly by depriving them of oxygen
Recalling watching the event he said: ‘She climbed into the device, pulled the lid down, pressed the button almost immediately, much to my surprise, and died about six minutes later.’
Speaking about the legal fallout on the podcast he said the matter was still ongoing.
‘We still haven’t got a clear idea of what the actual ‘crime’ is,’ he said.
‘I’m still not clear in their own mind, my mind and other members as to exactly what’s driving the intense opposition to the use of this device in Switzerland.’
He repeated that claims the woman, believed to a mother-of-two, had been strangled were incorrect.
‘We had film showing that the capsule hadn’t even been opened. So that was impossible,’ he said.
Dr Nitschke’s comments come as the UK is seeking to make assisted dying legal.
Late last year The Commons approved the second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill — which argues for the right for patients with less than six months to live to seek an assisted death in England.
Dr Nitschke’s comments come as the UK is seeking to make assisted dying legal. Pictured a campaign for the law in London
Under the proposed law two independent doctors must confirm that a patient seeking such a death fits the following criteria.
They must be over 18, live in England and Wales, and have been registered with a GP for the last year.
They must be deemed to have mental capacity to make the choice to end their own life and not have been pressured into doing so by others.
A medical team must also have calculated they have a bleak prognosis of less than six months.
The patient must also make two separate declarations of their wish to die to ensure the decision has been adequately considered.
If the medics feel the patient is eligible, the case is referred to a High Court judge who makes the ultimate call.
At least two weeks after a positive ruling, a patient is permitted to take their own life with the help of a doctor.
The law is controversial, and concerns have been raised that key safeguard of having a judge sign off each case could be at risk over fears the court system could be swamped.
UK: For help and support, call the Samaritans for free from a UK phone, completely anonymously, on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org.
US: If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
