Debate Sparks After Switzerland Develops Suicide Pods For Users Who Want To Encounter Painless Death
Switzerland has sparked a debate on Twitter after revealing that they are developing a “suicide capsule”. Developers state the 3D-printed pods will allow people to choose the place where they want to die an assisted death.
RELATED:Man Kills Ex-Wife And Girlfriend In Murder-Suicide After Posting Disturbing Facebook Video
“We want to remove any kind of psychiatric review from the process and allow the individual to control the method themselves,” developer Dr. Philip Nitschke said. “Our aim is to develop an artificial intelligence screening system to establish the person’s mental capacity. Naturally, there is a lot of skepticism, especially on the part of psychiatrists.”
“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,” Nitschke said in a Sarco demonstration last year.
In a 2018 personal article for HuffPost, Nitschke shared that his focus in the world of assisted suicide has changed over the years “from supporting the idea of a dignified death for the terminally ill (the medical model) to supporting the concept of a good death for any rational adult who has ‘life experience’ (the human rights model).”
RELATED:12-Year-Old Commits Suicide After Bullies Say He’d Go To Hell For Being Gay
“Time and again, we see the comfort and reassurance that is gained from knowing one has an ‘exit plan,’ so to speak, within reach, should the need ever arise. Being in control gives confidence. It restores one’s sense of self. And, yes, it generates dignity in living, knowing one will have dignity in dying,” he wrote.