The inventor of the Sarco gas chamber assisted suicide pod, Dr Philip Nitschke (nicknamed “Dr Death” and “the Elon Musk of assisted suicide”) has announced that he intends to launch an assisted suicide service using the Sarco pods in the UK if the Bill becomes law.
With Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill being voted on at the end of this week (Friday 29 November), The Telegraph reports that Phillip Nitschke, the founder of assisted suicide lobby group Exit International and the inventor of the ‘Sarco’ suicide machine, is “absolutely” keen on bringing his machine to the UK if the assisted suicide Bill passes.
Leading legal academics have confirmed with The Telegraph that the assisted suicide pods will be legal under the proposed legislation.
Professor of law and constitutional government at St John’s College, Oxford, Richard Ekins KC said, “If Kim Leadbeater’s Bill passes, and if the Secretary of State approves liquid nitrogen as an approved substance, then the Sarco death pod would be a lawful means to assist suicide in Britain”.
A person ends their own life inside the 3D-printed Sarco pod by pushing a button which injects nitrogen gas into the sealed gas chamber. The nitrogen causes them to suffocate to death. Dr Philip Nitschke has said that the machine can be “towed anywhere for the death”.
If the Leadbeater Bill becomes law, thousands of lives could be ended here in the UK using these horrific suicide pods over the coming years.
Nitschke has openly discussed his intention to bring Sarco pods to Britain, describing them as a “stylish” and “elegant” option for assisted suicide. He has even suggested picturesque locations, such as the Lake District, as potential settings for their use, raising serious concerns about how these devices might be integrated into public spaces and communities.
Nitschke originally introduced the device, which he calls the “Sarco machine”, in 2019. In an interview with SWI swissinfo.ch given in 2021, Nitschke said “It’s a 3-D printed capsule, activated from the inside by the person intending to die. The machine can be towed anywhere for the death”.
However, the use of the ‘Sarco machine’ has been dogged by controversy. Just two months ago, prosecutors in Switzerland banned its use because they were concerned not only about the legality of its use in the country but also about potential ethical issues surrounding its implementation. More recently, at the end of September, an American woman became the first person to use the Sarco suicide machine in Switzerland despite the fact that its illegality was confirmed hours before her death, resulting in the arrest of four people.
Swiss authorities have since confiscated two of the devices following the death of a woman under suspicious circumstances. Despite this, Nitschke is continuing with the construction of new pods, and said “We are printing a new Sarco now to make up for the one that the Swiss have confiscated. I can see no reason why it couldn’t be used in the UK when the law comes in”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “The idea of these Sarco gas chamber suicide pods being used in the UK is truly horrifying. This suicide machine is a gross, dystopian device more appropriate for science-fiction than our healthcare system”.
“The fact that Philip Nitschke, otherwise known as Dr Death, appears to be preparing a Sarco pod for use in England and Wales, as well as top lawyers indicating that the use of his Sarco pod would be legal should Leadbeater’s Bill pass, provides yet another example of just how weak the ‘safeguards’ present in the Bill really are”.
“The UK must prioritise properly funded, high-quality palliative care for those at the end of their life, not assisted suicide”.
