A space-age death pod dubbed the ‘Tesla Of Euthanasia’ has been banned by prosecutors in Switzerland.
The 3D-printed Sarco pod can kill occupants at the press of a button, flooding the coffin-like chamber with nitrogen.
Suicide expert Philip Nitschke, 76, dubbed Dr Death, developed the pod through his Exit International group and had planned to use them at their Swiss euthanasia centres.
Now prosecutors in Switzerland’s Schaffhausen Canton have warned that anyone assisting someone to use the pods could face up to five years behind bars.
Public Prosecutor Peter Sticher warned of “serious consequences” for Nitschke for “inducement and aiding and abetting suicide for selfish reasons.”
In a letter obtained by Swiss media, Sticher said: “There is no reliable information about the method of killing.
“[It is] completely unclear who has control over which mechanical process during the dying process.”
Prosecutors say that under section 115 of the canton’s penal code, it would be impossible to establish just who was doing the killing.
The ban followed after Nitschke revealed in an online forum on 10th June, that Sarco’s deployment in the country was expected “in the next few weeks.”
He said: “The machine can be towed anywhere for the death.
“It can be in an idyllic outdoor setting or on the premises of an assisted-suicide organisation, for example.”
A well-informed source revealed that Exit Switzerland’s preparations were complete, with the launch set for July and a euthanasia patient already selected and ready to go ahead.
The pods kill their occupants by inducing hypoxia, or oxygen starvation.
Would-be users would have to fill in an online survey before being given a pod’s location and an access code, like a delivery mailbox.
Then inside the capsule, they confirm who they are, where they are, and if they know what happens when they press the button.
If they go ahead a flood of nitrogen lowers the oxygen level from 21 per cent to just one per cent, killing them in 30 seconds.
Nitschke explained: “Death takes place through hypoxia and hypocapnia, oxygen and carbon dioxide deprivation, respectively. There is no panic, no choking.”
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Story By: Georgina Jedikovska, Sub-Editor: Georgina Jedikovska, Agency: Newsflash
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