Sarco capsule use sparks legal battle in Switzerland

For many people, suicide is the only solution to fighting incurable diseases that ravage their bodies. In the Netherlands, euthanasia for individuals suffering from severe illnesses has been allowed from the age of 16, utilized by, among others, the YouTuber Lauren Hoeve, who suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome and passed away on 27 January 2024. In Switzerland, however, so-called assisted suicides were legalized in the 1940s, which are suicides carried out with the support of doctors who provide medications to aid in death.

On 23 September 2024, near the Swiss town of Merishausen, close to the German border, the first person used the Sarco suicide capsule. The patient who decided to die was a 64-year-old American woman suffering from a severe autoimmune disease. The police in the canton of Schaffhausen disapproved of using the Sarco capsule. Officers initiated an investigation and detained several individuals on suspicion of incitement and conspiracy in the suicide.

Swiss Interior Minister Élisabeth Baume-Schneider, on the other hand, claimed that the use of the suicide capsule was illegal as the device did not meet safety requirements, including the use of nitrogen during the procedure. She also questioned the morality of using the Sarco capsule. Prosecutors and police believe that the only person present at the woman's death was the German scientist Florian Willet, which also breaches Swiss law, which stipulates that a doctor must be present during an assisted suicide.

Philip Nitschke, the Australian inventor of Sarco, commented on using the suicide capsule. He wrote on the portal X that the 64-year-old American had an "idyllic, peaceful death in the Swiss forest." The device was reportedly used to give her "the death she desired." Nitschke monitored the entire process via video transmission, allowing him to keep track of readings from the oxygen and heart rate monitor connected to her.

In an interview with "De Volkskrant," the doctor said that the woman lost consciousness "within two minutes" and died after five minutes. "We saw jerky, small twitches of the muscles in her arms, but she was probably already unconscious by then. It looked exactly how we expected it to look." Before entering the capsule, the American stated her lawyer, Fiona Stewart. In the document, she confirmed that she wanted to die and had the support of her two sons. The American stated that she had wanted to die for two years after being diagnosed with a severe disease that caused her severe pain. The lawyer added that before her death, the woman was examined by a psychiatrist who deemed her mentally fit.