A freely chosen death without ingesting controlled substances is being legalised in Switzerland, with the introduction of 3D technology from the Netherlands.

As Swissinfo reported this month, the 3D printed coffin passed the national legal review and may be used from 2022 for euthanasia.

WHAT’S THE IMPACT

The 3D printed ‘Sarco’ suicide capsule was developed by Australian company Exit International in 2017, and had two prototypes available across Europe. A third prototype is currently being produced in the Netherlands.

The idea behind the technology is the founder’s vision to help terminally ill patients put an end to their suffering and allow them to have a comparably ‘peaceful’ death.

Instead of taking ‘liquid sodium pentobarbital’, the traditional way for euthanasia, the capsule technology requires the patient with incurable or a terminal condition to get into the capsule, lie down and activate the mechanism by pressing a button.

Within 30 seconds, nitrogen is released in the interior while oxygen is rapidly reduced – in doing so, the patient will quickly lose consciousness and experience no panic or choking, instead feeling euphoric or relaxed. Death then occurs through the deprivation of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

As the manufacturer states, it is possible to carry out the procedure in a place of choice, for example outside.

THE LARGER TREND

Exit International campaigns for the right to suicide and assisted suicide.

Currently, assisted suicide is legal in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada and Columbia with different requirements and rules in each country.

According to Business Insider, there were around 7,000 assisted suicide cases in the Netherlands in 2020, with a growth of nine per cent compared to the previous year.

In Switzerland a total of 1,300 people chose assisted suicide in 2020 according to Swissinfo.

ON THE RECORD

“The benefit for the person who uses it is that they don’t have to get any permission, they don’t need some special doctor to try and get a needle in, and they don’t need to get difficult drugs to obtain”, stated Dr Philipp Nitschke, the Australian founder of Exit International during a showcase event.