2024-09-24 11:36:45
The Sarco suicide assistance capsule, which allows one to take one’s life without the help of a doctor, does not comply with Swiss law, said the Swiss Minister of the Interior, Monday September 23, 2024. ARND WIEGMANN / AFP
Several people were arrested in Switzerland after the use, on Monday September 23, by an American woman of an assisted suicide capsule, a kind of sarcophagus which allows one to take one’s life without the help of a doctor, police said Tuesday. “The public prosecutor’s office in the canton of Schaffhausen has opened criminal proceedings against several people for inciting and assisting suicide and several people have been taken into police custody”according to a press release from the police of the canton, located in the north of Switzerland.
The cantonal prosecutor’s office was informed on Monday by a law firm “that an assisted suicide using the Sarco capsule [pour sarcophage] had taken place in a forest hut in Merishausen in the afternoon »explains the police. “The Sarco suicide capsule was seized and [le corps de la] deceased person was transported (…) for an autopsy »also specified the police. According to Swiss media, this is the first time that this capsule has been used.
“Monday September 23, around 4:01 p.m. [heure de Paris]a 64-year-old woman from the American Midwest died while using the Sarco device »reported The Last Resort, the association which promotes this system, in a press release published after the police announced the arrests. The association adds that this woman “suffered for many years from a number of serious problems related to severe immune deficiency”.
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“We found the capsule with the inanimate person inside”detailed the first prosecutor of Schaffhausen, Peter Sticher, to the Swiss daily Blick. “We arrested several people (…) to prevent them from colluding or hiding evidence.he continued. The promoters of the capsule had been warned. “We said that if they came to Schaffhausen and used Sarco, they would face criminal consequences”confided Mr. Sticher.
“Not in compliance with the law”
Invented by the Australian Philip Nitschke, a former doctor known for his controversial positions on the end of life, this capsule is in the form of a mini-cabin in which the person who wishes to end their life must lie down . She must then answer a series of questions to confirm that she understands what she is doing before pushing a button herself that releases nitrogen. She should lose consciousness after a few breaths and die after a few minutes, according to The Last Resort.
In July, its promoters presented this device, saying they wanted to carry out its first use in Switzerland, which caused great excitement. Assisted suicide is permitted in this country, but with the accompaniment of a doctor. However, the association announced at the end of July that the person who was to be the first to use it, an American woman in her fifties, had been removed due to the deterioration of her mental state.
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On Monday, the Swiss Minister of the Interior, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, affirmed, during a question session in the Chamber of Deputies, that this “Sarco suicide capsule does not comply with the law”. First of all, she doesn’t respond “requirements regarding product safety law”. Additionally, the use of nitrogen inside this capsule is not “not compatible” with the aim of the Chemicals Act, explained the minister.
Fiona Stewart, an attorney and member of The Last Resort’s advisory board, said Tuesday that the association had “always acted on the legal advice of its lawyers”. “Since 2021, they have always considered that the use of Sarco in Switzerland was legal”underlines the organization in its press release.
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Co-president of The Last Resort, Florian Willet “was the only person present at the time of death” and described the American’s death as “peaceful, fast and dignified”.
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