Use of assisted suicide pod in Switzerland sparks criminal investigation

Near a wood hut in a forest in northern Switzerland two weeks ago, a 64-year-old American woman got inside a 3-D printed pod. After pressing a button, nitrogen gas flooded the pod and the woman died as her oxygen levels dropped to fatal levels.
It was the first recorded use of the Sarco suicide capsule, according to a local news report. Approved users of Sarco’s capsule have to meet Switzerland’s criteria of an assessment to show they are of sound mind, the ability to self-administer the drugs and not have a selfish motivation.
The Sarco pod is one of the most recent controversies as it relates to assisted suicide. Publications from The Washington Post to The Wall Street Journal have scrutinized America’s northern neighbor Canada for its approach to assisted suicide. Governments around the world are reckoning with whether or not to adopt policies support assisted suicide as new reporting shows disability experts increasingly concerned with the potential consequences.
Not even a month after the first use of Sarco, the groups behind the pod said they stopped taking applications for it, per The Associated Press. There is a criminal investigation underway into the death of the American woman. The Last Resort president Florian Willet, an assisted suicide rights advocacy group behind Sarco, was arrested along with several others who the outlet did not identify. Willet remains in custody, but others were released.
The Last Resort said on its website it offers assisted suicide at no cost, and in the future, it will make the 3-D print plans for the pod available as an “open source to people qualifying.”
Philip Nitschke, the pod’s creator, is a longtime advocate for assisted suicide. The BBC reported Nitschke’s aim was to “de-medicalise the dying process” and “remove any kind of psychiatric review from the process and allow the individual to control the method themselves.”
A local news outlet reported that Switzerland’s Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said the pod is not legal for use in the country. She said it does not meet the requirements of the product safety law. Sarco’s future in Switzerland is an unknown, but other countries and states are discussing assisted suicide.
British Parliament Labour Member Kim Leadbeater has recently put forward a bill that would legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales for people who have a prognosis of six months or less to live, according to the BBC. Scotland and Isle of Man are also considering similar changes.
Delaware Gov. John Carney vetoed a bill to legalize assisted suicide last month, saying he does not believe there is a state or national consensus on this issue.
“Last year, the American Medical Association reaffirmed its view that physician-assisted suicide is ‘fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer,’” said Carney in a statement. He said even under tragic circumstances, he was opposed to law allowing someone to die by assisted suicide.
In New Jersey, assisted suicide rights advocates are reportedly pushing to expand the state’s medically assisted death law, which passed five years ago. The New Jersey Monitor reported advocates want to see the residency requirement removed and the 15-day waiting period removed.
At least 12 states were considering bills in 2024 to allow for assisted suicide, per The Associated Press. Those efforts have yet to pan out as the last state to legalize assisted suicide was New Mexico in 2021.
A Virginia House committee tabled the bill until the 2025 session, according to The Associated Press. The bishops of two Catholic dioceses had issued a statement in opposition to the bill.
“Assisted suicide facilitates tragedies and makes the most vulnerable even more vulnerable,” Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and Bishop Barry Knestout of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond said to the outlet. “Legalizing it would place the lives of people with disabilities, people with mental illnesses, the elderly, and those unable to afford healthcare — among others — at heightened risk of deadly harm.”
Editor’s note: This story deals with the practice of assisted suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line is always available. You can text or call 988 any time or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Utah, you can also reach out to SafeUT, 833-372-3388, or download the SafeUT app.