371 Applications Received in One Month... Submission Suspended
Swiss Authorities Detain Individuals Involved in Capsule Use
"Products Failing Safety and Chemical Usage Standards"
The 'euthanasia capsule,' which causes death within five minutes at the push of a button inside the capsule, has received over 370 applications within a month since its first unveiling. However, the capsule manufacturer has currently suspended the application process. This is because there is evidence that the capsule violates current Swiss law, prompting the police to launch an investigation.
According to foreign media including AP News on the 7th (local time), Florian Willet, CEO of the assisted suicide company 'The Last Resort,' which introduced the so-called 'euthanasia capsule' to Switzerland, is in pre-trial detention.
The euthanasia capsule is named 'Sarco.' This device was developed by Exit International, an assisted suicide advocacy group headquartered in the Netherlands. It is a machine that causes death within five minutes at the push of a button, and The Last Resort decided to import and operate the device in Switzerland. The device was first operated on the 23rd of last month in a cabin in a forest in the canton of Schaffhausen, where the first applicant, a 64-year-old American woman, died inside the capsule.
Philip Nitschke, MD, an Australian founder of Exit International, an international nonprofit organization advocating for the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia, created Sarco, known as the "death capsule," with a Dutch designer in 2017 using a 3D printer. [Photo by AP and Yonhap News]
The problem was that the machine was operated without approval for use at that time. After receiving a tip-off, the police dispatched officers to the scene and took into custody corporate officials involved in the use of Sarco. Subsequently, the local prosecutor's office initiated criminal proceedings against those detained.
On the 6th, the company issued a statement saying, "Currently, there are 371 people 'applying' to use Sarco in Switzerland," and "the application process has been suspended since the first operation of Sarco."
The Sarco capsule was reportedly created by Dr. Philip Nitschke, founder of Exit International. It was produced using a 3D printer, and the development cost is said to have exceeded one million dollars (approximately 1.344 billion KRW).
Inside the capsule, there is a reclining chair where one person can lie down, and when the hopeful user sitting in the chair presses the button, the process begins. Nitrogen gas is injected into the sealed capsule, and the hopeful user inside the capsule dies within minutes while asleep.
Exit International claims that this death is "peaceful, quick, and dignified." However, such claims are solely those of the company and organization, and it is impossible to verify the actual conditions under which the hopeful user dies.
Meanwhile, the reason Sarco is illegal in Switzerland, where assisted suicide is permitted, is due to the device's failure to meet safety requirements and possible violations of chemical substance regulations. Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Swiss Federal Councillor for the Interior, pointed out, "The Sarco capsule did not comply with current laws; firstly, it failed to meet the requirements of the Product Safety Act, so it could not be marketed, and secondly, the use of nitrogen is incompatible with the purpose clause of the Chemical Substances Act."
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