This would be valuable context for journalist to include, if true. I personally know someone who died via assisted suicide. She had terminal cancer, and went through a very thorough vetting and consultation before undergoing the process. If this person was not afforded such care, that would terrible.

The people who made the Sarco and their organization is not for profit as far as I know, in fact they specifically rebuke the industry around assisted dying in Switzerland which charges people 10,000 Swiss francs for a peaceful death.

There is also a rigorous pre-aproval process which was well documented, which I imagine is why they had to let everyone go.

There is a very interesting write up here:

https://www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/first-woman-dies-in-suicide-capsule-in-switzerland~bb2fa6aa/

Here is the English translation:

The woman’s death was confirmed by physician Philip Nitschke, creator of the capsule and an internationally known advocate of the right to die movement.

The American woman, who traveled to Switzerland for this purpose, initiated her dying process herself by pressing a button while lying in the capsule. The air in the cabin was then rapidly replaced by nitrogen gas, causing the oxygen level to drop to a deadly level within a minute. Nitrogen is not poisonous. The woman lost consciousness and died of hypoxia, the lack of oxygen, says the organization that accompanied her.

Arrests after the suicide

The police of Schaffhausen, the Swiss canton in which the suicide took place, detained a Volkskrant photographer on Monday who followed the case closely and wanted to take photos. The newspaper was unable to contact the photographer for hours. Late Monday evening, police in Schaffhausen confirmed that the photographer was being held at the police station. The police did not want to provide any further explanation.

The police may also have detained director Florian Willet of the Swiss organization The Last Resort, who was present at the suicide. Swiss police declined to comment on Tuesday morning, only confirming that police had carried out an ‘operation’ near Schaffhausen the day before.

The right to die movement

The Sarco was designed and built in the Netherlands. Creator Nitschke (77), an Australian doctor and physicist who lived in the Netherlands for the past ten years, has worked on the development of the capsule for twelve years. Nitschke is the founder of Exit International, a movement with 30,000 members who are searching for the best methods for a dignified, self-chosen death. This is difficult, because ‘humane’, deadly drugs are very hard to obtain. The woman’s death is an important step for the right to die movement, according to Nitschke.

Nitschke has tested his capsule several times. In May he lay down in the capsule filled with nitrogen gas for five minutes with an oxygen mask on his face, as seen by de Volkskrant.

More elegant variant

According to Nitschke, his invention is a more elegant variant of people who kill themselves using gas in a bag over their head. He says death in the Sarco is similar to the death that follows when cabin pressure is lost in an airplane and passengers are left without oxygen. ‘We know from people who have survived that this doesn’t feel like suffocating’, he says. ‘You just keep on breathing. After half a minute people start to feel disoriented. They’re not really being aware of what is happening to them. This is often accompanied by a feeling of mild euphoria. And then they just slip away.’

The 64-year-old woman died at an estimated time of 4:01 PM in the afternoon in the Sarco, says Nitschke. She was in the presence of Florian Willet, the director of The Last Resort, a Swiss assisted suicide organization that supervised the procedure. He was the only person present at her death.

The Last Resort was founded in July 2023 in Switzerland specifically for the use of the Sarco. According to the organization, a good death is a ‘fundamental human right’. The Last Resort chose Switzerland as its base because it is one of the few countries in the world where assisted suicide is permitted under certain conditions. In the Netherlands this is illegal.

‘She really wanted to die’

Nitschke, who is technical advisor to The Last Resort, followed the death of the woman from Germany, via an oxygen and a heart rate monitor and a camera in the Sarco. The dying process went ‘well’, he said to de Volkskrant. 'When she entered the Sarco, she almost immediately pressed the button. She didn’t say anything. She really wanted to die. My estimate is that she lost consciousness within 2 minutes and that she 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.’

The Sarco was set up outside in a remote area in Switzerland, near the German border. Through a window the woman had a view of nature during her last moments. She could see the sky and the trees that surrounded the capsule. After her death, The Last Resort informed the Swiss police.

Rules of the Chemicals Act

Until recently, the Swiss government did not comment on whether the Sarco is legal. Supervising authority Swissmedic stated that the Sarco is not a medical device, so therefore no permit is required. Moreover, nitrogen, a gas that is present in the air, is not registered as a medicine. On Monday however, Swiss Minister of Internal Affairs Elisabeth Baume-Schneider stated that, in her opinion, the Sarco would not meet product safety requirements and that nitrogen in the Sarco does not meet the rules of the Chemicals Act, writes Swiss newspaper NZZ.

Before using the Sarco the American woman made an oral statement to lawyer Fiona Stewart, one of the members of the Advisory Board of The Last Resort. Stewart is also Nitschke’s wife. The statement was listened to by Volkskrant, with her permission.

Serious illness and severe pain

In the recording, which lasts just over four minutes, the woman confirms that it was her own wish to die. She says that she has had a desire to die for ‘at least two years’, ever since she was diagnosed with a very serious illness that causes severe pain. She also states that her two sons ‘completely agree’ that this is her decision. ‘They support me 100 percent’, she said. Stewart from The Last Resort says both sons also confirmed this through written statements to The Last Resort. The sons were not present in Switzerland.

The American woman was examined in advance by a psychiatrist, who deemed her competent, says Stewart. ‘When she registered, she said that she would like to die as quickly as possible.’ According to her the woman did not have a psychiatric history.

‘Dr. Death’

Nitschke’s actions often sparked heated debates in the past. Some journalists nicknamed him ‘Dr Death’. In 2006, he caused a worldwide stir with a book in which he describes dozens of suicide methods in detail: The Peaceful Pill Handbook. Due to the fuss about his activities, he moved to the Netherlands ten years ago.

He announced his latest invention, the Sarco, in the Huffington Post with the words: ‘What if we dared to imagine that our last day on this planet might also be one of our most exciting?’

‘The day you die is one of the most important days of your life’, Nitschke says de Volkskrant. ‘When it becomes inevitable, why don’t we embrace it? With this machine you can die anywhere you want: with a view of the mountains or of the waves of the ocean. And apart from this device, you don’t need much: no doctor putting a needle into your veins, no illegal drugs that are difficult to obtain. This demedicalizes death.’

‘Free to use’

It is still unclear how Swiss justice will react to this. The conditions set by the country are that the person with the death wish is mentally competent, that they carry out the final deadly act themselves and that the people who help have altruistic motives.

According to The Last Resort, the woman paid nothing for the Sarco, with the exception of 18 Swiss francs for the nitrogen tank and her funeral costs. ‘Using the Sarco is free’, Stewart states. ‘That is part of our philosophy. We don’t want to make any money on this. ’

3D printers

There are several organizations in Switzerland that help people die. This is done with the help of doctors. Every year, hundreds of foreigners travel to the country for this purpose - and their number is growing. Critics refer to this as ‘suicide tourism’. The Last Resort sharply criticizes the high amounts charged by these organizations. ‘There is no moral mandate to charge 10,000 Swiss francs plus for assistance in a peaceful and reliable suicide’, they say on their website.

The Sarco was manufactured with the help of 3D printers. Creator Philip Nitschke plans to publish the blueprints in his handbook. The Last Resort also wants to open the suicide capsule to others in the future. They already have a waiting list, Stewart says. One of the conditions will be that people are over 50. ‘This is not for young people’, Stewart says. ‘We don’t want to encourage suicide.’

I bet if it was a man nobody would question their autonomy over the decision. Remember women couldn’t vote in Switzerland until 1971. So how could they make informed decisions?

I haven’t worked in aircraft for 20 years to avoid the chance to steal expensive aircraft fasteners to make a suicide pod.