Swiss police say they have detained several people and opened a criminal case a day after the first use of the “Sarco” capsule to end a person’s life. Assisted dying is legal in Switzerland in some circumstances.

Police in the northern Swiss canton of Schaffhausen said on Tuesday that several people had been detained, and a dead body taken for examination, following the apparent first use of a capsule designed to help people end their lives.

The “Sarco” capsule, made in the Netherlands and in development for several years now, is supposed to allow a person reclining inside to press a button, after which most of the oxygen in the sealed chamber is replaced with nitrogen.

According to the group that promotes its use, Exit International, this triggers first mild disorientation and euphoria, then unconsciousness, and in a few minutes death by asphyxiation.

  • @Shou
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    13 hours ago

    That plan is half-assed. You’re gonna fuck up the attempt mate, and I don’t want you to end up worse than dead.

    It’s a fairly peaceful method if done right. The method can knock you out real quick (10-30s for a humam if done right), but it takes a while to actually die from it (could be 30min depending on lots of factors including gender). A lot slower than you would expect. I’ve seen gas termination with rats for anatomy lessons. It took a tiny animal a long time to die. 15min minimum, so we chose 30min to be sure. A human with 5L of blood rich in oxygen takes longer. In between losing conciousness and death, you’ll fight back. The odds of surviving as a half-vegetable aren’t favorable here.

    If you choose to go, make sure you rethink this method.