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A German scientist behind a Swiss ‘suicide capsule’ designed to carry out assisted dying has declared he will ‘probably one day use it’ as he defended the device at a press conference today.
The Sarco, short for sarcophagus, would enable the euthanasia patient inside it to press a button and die ‘within seconds’, according to the company behind it, Exit Switzerland.
The case – which looks like something out of a sci-fi film and has been described as the ‘Tesla of euthanasia’ – fills with nitrogen to starve the occupant of oxygen, rendering the patient unconscious before they die.
Authorities in Switzerland’s Schaffhausen and Valais Cantons have issued bans on the device and warned that anyone assisting someone to use the pods could face jail time, according to Swiss media reports.
But scientist Florian Willet, 47, said the capsule had undergone extensive instrument testing, while lawyer Fiona Stewart …