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.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    23 hours ago

    Can you get scuba tanks of nitrogen? I suppose thr unscrupulous would fill anything with the gas of your choice. It probably doesn’t have to be a scuba tank, either.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      12 hours ago

      Since you do not work with a hermetically sealed environment, it is totally enough to use duct tape to bridge different hoses. The goal is to have a steady stream of nitrogen which you can breathe for at least 60 minutes. Not that you need this long to die, but in cases like this, I would add 3-4 times the amount of safety, so you are clearly dead and not just a veggie in a coma.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        111 minutes ago

        As morbid as it sounds, don’t skimp out people. You’re gonna die anyways what’s a couple extra bucks spent to make sure you don’t end up a worst fate as a vegetable.