Latest news with #Sarco
Metro
21-06-2025
- Health
- Metro
Inventor of the 'Tesla' of suicide pods 'vows to bring device to UK'
Philip Nitschke enters a 'suicide pod' known as 'Sarco' in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (Picture: AP) The inventor of the controversial 'Sarco' suicide pod has vowed to bring it to Britain, after the bill to legalise assisted dying passed its final vote. History was made yesterday in the Commons as a total of 314 MPs voted in favour of the proposal – a narrow victory that would allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards, to be assisted to end their own life. The legislation will go to the next stage of scrutiny in the House of Lords but the bill is expected to become law. Euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke said he hoped to use his Sarco suicide capsule – dubbed the 'Tesla of assisted dying' – in the UK following the vote. He received the nickname 'Dr Death' for facilitating the world's first legal assisted suicides in the 1990s. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. Nitschke told The Times: 'As soon as we know that the final legislation is in place we'll start enthusiastically pursuing the option of using the device in the UK. 'We will be looking to find UK-registered doctors to assist and of course someone who wants to use it and satisfies all of the requirements under the law. 'The doctors involved would know that this would attract attention and possible close scrutiny, which by and large most doctors are not enthusiastic about, so we'd have to find someone who's a little crusading.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Polls have shown the UK public is broadly in favour of legalising assisted dying. Findings published by YouGov on the eve of the vote revealed almost three-quarters (73%) of people support the measures, with 16% opposed. Nitschke is behind several inventions linked to euthanasia, which remain greatly controversial despite the changing attitudes across the world. In 1995, when assisted dying was briefly legalised in Australia's Northern, he created a suicide machine named 'Deliverance' by linking up his laptop to a syringe of deadly chemicals. Nitschke's prototype 'Sarco' euthanasia pod in Venice The doctor then followed with 'the Coma machine', 'the Exit bag' and then 'Sarco', an at-home pod. The machine allows users to assist their own suicide rather than rely on an operator. The person inside pushed a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber, causing death by suffocation. Last September, a 64-year-old American woman became the first person to take her own life inside a 'Sarco' capsule at a remote woodland retreat in Switzerland. But the use of the suicide pod was suspended shortly after as the woman was found inside with strangulation marks on her neck, and Swiss police opened an investigation into the case. What are the main measures in the assisted dying bill? Kim Leadbeater has said she deliberately named her proposal the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to ensure it only ever applies to people who can no longer be treated. It would apply to people in England and Wales aged over 18 who: have an untreatable, inevitably progressive illness or disease and are expected to live no longer than six months have the mental capacity to make a decision, and a clear, settled and informed wish to end their own life have not been coerced or pressured by any other person into making that decision have made two separate declarations, signed and unsigned, about their wish to die Two separate doctors would need to make assessments that the person is eligible, and applications would be reviewed by a panel including a senior legal figure, a psychiatrist and a social worker. 'Periods of reflection' – the first lasting seven days, the second lasting 14 – would be built into the process. If the person gets to the end of the process, they would then administer the fatal substance themselves. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: MP leading push for assisted dying 'confident' historic vote will pass Arrow MORE: TV doctor Hilary Jones 'willing to help patients end life with assisted dying' Arrow MORE: Suicide pod activist Florian Willet takes his own life after arrest over woman's death
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Is the controversial suicide capsule coming to Britain? Australian right-to-die campaigner known as 'Dr Death' aims to bring euthanasia pod to the UK
A controversial suicide capsule could be coming to the UK after the assisted dying Bill passed its final Commons vote yesterday. Dr Philip Nitschke, the Australian right-to-die campaigner known as 'Dr Death' who is behind the Sarco euthanasia pod, said he will be 'enthusiastically' seeking to bring the technology to Britain for the first time. The coffin-like device offers patients a way to end their lives painlessly by flooding a sealed chamber with nitrogen gas that leads to loss of consciousness and death within ten minutes. A camera records their final moments and the video is sent to a coroner. Dr Nitschke said he intends to start 'enthusiastically pursuing the option of using the device in the UK' as soon as the assisted dying Bill becomes law. The campaigner said he has already had inquiries from 15 Britons seeking to use the Sarco pod and expects this number to increase with the passing of the Bill. 'We'll be looking to find UK-registered doctors to assist and of course someone who wants to use it and satisfies all of the requirements under the law,' he told The Times. 'The doctors involved would know that this would attract attention and possible close scrutiny, which by and large most doctors aren't enthusiastic about, so we'd have to find someone a little crusading.' If it becomes law, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will let terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live apply for an assisted death. The person wishing to die would take an approved substance, provided by a doctor but administered only by the person themselves. So far the Bill does not detail what the medication should be. Last year police made arrests after the Sarco pod was used for the first time by a 64-year-old American woman in Switzerland. Swiss authorities confiscated the capsule and took one of the pod company's founders, Florian Willet, who was present at the death, into custody on suspicion of aiding and abetting suicide. He was detained for ten weeks after police claimed there were strangulation marks on the neck of woman who had died. It comes after MPs on both sides of the assisted dying debate made impassioned interventions ahead of the Commons vote yesterday. Former home secretary Sir James Cleverly opened the debate for opponents of the Bill, speaking movingly of losing his closest friend to cancer this year as he warned that he could have 'lost' these precious final moments had assisted dying been available. Meanwhile Mother of the House Diane Abbott described it as the 'most fateful Bill that we discuss this Parliament'. The Labour MP warned that, under the Bill in its current form, 'there will be people among the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society who lose their lives unnecessarily'. 'It is literally a matter of life and death,' she added. 'I have heard talk today of the injustices of the current situation. What could be more unjust than someone losing their life because of poorly drafted legislation?' Former security minister Tom Tugendhat warned that legalising assisted dying would represent 'a huge shift in the relationship between the individual and the State'. The Tory MP said: 'It's about the power over life and death. Not just over ourselves, because we already have the power to end our own lives, it's called suicide. It is not a crime – it hasn't been a crime in this country for decades. 'This is a different power. This is about the power of the State through its agents to exercise power over life and death. 'Yes, agreed; yes, approved of in advance; but when the State takes a life, even with consent, that is a huge shift in the relationship between the individual and the State.' But one of the Bill's leading backers, Tory MP Kit Malthouse, wanted to give a voice to dying people 'not because they want to be rescued, but because time and time again, they're begging us for mercy'. The former Cabinet minister added: 'We honour life by giving it meaning and power. And the one thing that dying people ask for in their agonising final moments is control over the disease that is destroying them.' Campaigners from both sides had spent the day in rival but respectful demonstrations outside the Houses of Parliament. A cheer erupted as the result was announced on a livestream. Many cried and hugged each other, while others popped champagne. Rebecca Wilcox, Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter, called her mother, who is terminally ill, in front of supporters and told her she wished she was there. Ms Wilcox said that she even gave Bill proponent Kim Leadbeater's mother a 'big hug' following the result announcement and added: 'I don't know whether to have a drink or a really big cry. It was quite extraordinary.' Meanwhile Labour MP Dr Peter Prinsley said: 'As a young doctor, I found the measures that we're debating today completely unconscionable, but now I'm an old doctor, I feel sure this is an essential change.' He added: 'There is an absolute sanctity of human life, but we are not dealing with life or death, rather death or death. For there is also a sanctity of human dignity and fundamental to that is surely choice. Who are we to deny that?'
The Irish Sun
20-06-2025
- Health
- The Irish Sun
Suicide pod inventor ‘vows to bring device to UK' after assisted dying vote despite mystery over ‘murder' of woman
THE inventor of the controversial Sacro "suicide pod" has vowed to bring the death device to the UK - despite it facing scrutiny over the alleged murder of a woman. It comes as MPs on Friday passed a landmark assisted dying bill in a knife-edge final vote. Advertisement 4 The Sarco pod on 23 September at the location where it was allegedly used Credit: AFP 4 The Sarco's inventor Philip Nitschke enters the pod in a demonstration Credit: AP 4 MPs have voted in favour of legalising assisted dying by 314-291 votes 4 Campaigners in favour of the assisted dying bill gathered outside the Houses of Parliament today to celebrate the result Credit: AFP Terminally ill adults are set to be given the legal right to end their lives. The decision paves the way for the biggest shake-up in end-of-life care in decades after weeks of furious lobbying on both sides. The Bill now moves to the House of Lords for further scrutiny before it can become law . If passed, it would mean adults in Advertisement read more on the pod Dr Philip Nitschke, It is a human-sized pod which replaces the oxygen inside it with nitrogen, causing death by hypoxia. Dubbed the "Tesla of euthanasia", it is self-operated by a button on the inside, providing death without medical supervision. A camera inside records their final moments, and the video is handed to a coroner. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Dr Nitschke said: 'As soon as we know that the final legislation is in place, we'll start enthusiastically pursuing the option of using the device in the UK. 'We'll be looking to find UK-registered doctors to assist, and of course, someone who wants to use it and satisfies all of the requirements under the law. First woman to die in 'suicide pod' may have been strangled, prosecutor claims "The doctors involved would know that this would attract attention and possible close scrutiny, which by and large most doctors aren't enthusiastic about, so we'd have to find someone who's a little crusading.' Dr Nitschke invented the Sarco in 2012. Advertisement Last year, he developed a double pod that could be used by a couple who wish to die together, He said: 'If we were able to make use of the device available in the UK, there would be quite a few more applications, I imagine, because people want to die in their own home, or more importantly, be able to take the Sarco to some nice place in the UK rather than having to try and go to some strange country.' The suicide pod activist started the process of assisted dying using the pod last year with The Last Resort organisation - an assisted dying group based in Switzerland. However, the pod became the centre of an alleged murder investigation after the first woman to die inside it was allegedly found with strangulation marks on her neck. Advertisement The anonymous woman, 64 and identified as an American citizen, set up in a forest in Switzerland . The woman is said to have initiated the dying process herself by pressing a button while lying in the pod in the middle of the forest. What measures are included in the bill? THE Assisted Dying Bill is one step closer to becoming law, meaning terminally ill adults are set to be given the legal right to end their lives. But the Bill - which has undergone significant changes at each stage - doesn't come without strict safeguards. Many things have been stripped out, so what remains? APPROVAL FROM DOCTORS AND AN EXPERT PANEL When the Bill was originally proposed, it was planned that a High Court judge would have the final say in each and every case. It comes after Labour's Kim Leadbeater had dismissed warnings that judges couldn't handle the cases due to scarce capacity, insisting her Bill would be the 'most robust' in the world. But Ms Leadbeater amended her legislation. The last-minute tweak, proposed just hours before MPs began debating However, applications will now need the approval of two doctors and a new expert panel. This will be made up of a legal figure, psychiatrist and social worker — a key change from the original plan. EATING DISORDERS MPs accepted an amendment ruling out eligibility for anyone seeking to die solely due to stopping eating or drinking. Ms Leadbeater stressed the Bill would exclude those with eating disorders. It followed concern over the wording of the potential law would provide a loophole for those with anorexia to end their own lives. The Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olne tabled the amendment. The Royal College of Psychiatrists also expressed concern over any people with mental disorders such as anxiety or depression using the Bill in a similar way. END-OF-LIFE CARE Another amendment requiring ministers to assess the impact on palliative care within a year also passed. Charity Marie Curie warning this alone would not "make the improvements needed" in end-of-life care. REFLECTION PERIOD Some parts of the Bill have stayed the same, however. Two doctors must be independently satisfied a person is eligible for assisted dying. The medics must do their assessments at least seven days apart. There must be a 14-day "reflection period" if the High Court decides the patient can undergo assisted dying. If the two doctors are still satisfied once the period has been completed, the patients will be prescribed lethal drugs. THE PAPERWORK Brits who want to end their lives early must show have the mental capacity to make a choice about ending their life. They must also be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressure. If the patient can prove this, they will then have to make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, saying they want to die. WHAT IS IN THE BILL? The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill applies to those over 18, who are living in England or Wales, and have been registered with a GP for at least 12 months. They must have the mental capacity to make the choice. They must be informed and free from coercion or pressure before making the choice. According to the Bill, they must have a terminal illness and be expected to die within six months. It requires them to declare their wish twice, both witnessed and signed. Two doctors must be satisfied that these requirements are met before the application is approved. A doctor would prepare the substance being used to end the patient's life, but the person would take it themselves. Coercing someone into declaring they want to end their life will be illegal, with a possible 14-year prison sentence. However, a forensic expert who checked her body shortly after she died found injuries near her neck that appeared similar to strangulation marks. The American woman was reportedly terminally ill and had been dying for two years. Advertisement She was diagnosed with Osteomyelitis - a disease that could have manifested the alleged injury marks on her neck - according to Dutch media. But her death raised a host of legal and ethical questions in Switzerland, where active euthanasia is banned but assisted dying has been legal for decades. Cops took several people into custody, including Dr Florian Willet, the president of The Last Resort organisation. The right-to-die activist, 47, took his own life. Advertisement He suffered a mental breakdown after being arrested by Swiss Police last year, according to Dr Nitschke. As part of the probe, prosecutors investigated whether he strangled the woman, but that was ruled out. Willet was released in December after being held in pre-trial detention for 70 days. He reportedly died in Germany with the help of a specialist organisation, though it is not known exactly how he died. Advertisement YOU'RE NOT ALONE EVERY 90 minutes in the UK, a life is lost to suicide. It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society - from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers. It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes. And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women. Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now. That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign. The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives. Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others... You're Not Alone. If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support: CALM, Heads Together, Mind, Papyrus, Samaritans,
Scottish Sun
20-06-2025
- Health
- Scottish Sun
Suicide pod inventor ‘vows to bring device to UK' after assisted dying vote despite mystery over ‘murder' of woman
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE inventor of the controversial Sacro "suicide pod" has vowed to bring the death device to the UK - despite it facing scrutiny over the alleged murder of a woman. It comes as MPs on Friday passed a landmark assisted dying bill in a knife-edge final vote. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 The Sarco pod on 23 September at the location where it was allegedly used Credit: AFP 4 The Sarco's inventor Philip Nitschke enters the pod in a demonstration Credit: AP 4 MPs have voted in favour of legalising assisted dying by 314-291 votes 4 Campaigners in favour of the assisted dying bill gathered outside the Houses of Parliament today to celebrate the result Credit: AFP Terminally ill adults are set to be given the legal right to end their lives. The decision paves the way for the biggest shake-up in end-of-life care in decades after weeks of furious lobbying on both sides. The Bill now moves to the House of Lords for further scrutiny before it can become law. If passed, it would mean adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live will be allowed to apply for a medically assisted death, under strict safeguards. Dr Philip Nitschke, who invented the bizarre-looking Sacro pod used in assisted dying, said he hoped to use the device in the UK. It is a human-sized pod which replaces the oxygen inside it with nitrogen, causing death by hypoxia. Dubbed the "Tesla of euthanasia", it is self-operated by a button on the inside, providing death without medical supervision. A camera inside records their final moments, and the video is handed to a coroner. Dr Nitschke said: 'As soon as we know that the final legislation is in place, we'll start enthusiastically pursuing the option of using the device in the UK. 'We'll be looking to find UK-registered doctors to assist, and of course, someone who wants to use it and satisfies all of the requirements under the law. First woman to die in 'suicide pod' may have been strangled, prosecutor claims "The doctors involved would know that this would attract attention and possible close scrutiny, which by and large most doctors aren't enthusiastic about, so we'd have to find someone who's a little crusading.' Dr Nitschke invented the Sarco in 2012. Last year, he developed a double pod that could be used by a couple who wish to die together, The Times reports. He said: 'If we were able to make use of the device available in the UK, there would be quite a few more applications, I imagine, because people want to die in their own home, or more importantly, be able to take the Sarco to some nice place in the UK rather than having to try and go to some strange country.' The suicide pod activist started the process of assisted dying using the pod last year with The Last Resort organisation - an assisted dying group based in Switzerland. However, the pod became the centre of an alleged murder investigation after the first woman to die inside it was allegedly found with strangulation marks on her neck. The anonymous woman, 64 and identified as an American citizen, died last year inside the controversial capsule set up in a forest in Switzerland. The woman is said to have initiated the dying process herself by pressing a button while lying in the pod in the middle of the forest. What measures are included in the bill? THE Assisted Dying Bill is one step closer to becoming law, meaning terminally ill adults are set to be given the legal right to end their lives. But the Bill - which has undergone significant changes at each stage - doesn't come without strict safeguards. Many things have been stripped out, so what remains? APPROVAL FROM DOCTORS AND AN EXPERT PANEL When the Bill was originally proposed, it was planned that a High Court judge would have the final say in each and every case. It comes after Labour's Kim Leadbeater had dismissed warnings that judges couldn't handle the cases due to scarce capacity, insisting her Bill would be the 'most robust' in the world. But Ms Leadbeater amended her legislation. The last-minute tweak, proposed just hours before MPs began debating the Bill in February, sparked a backlash — throwing its future into doubt and turning former supporters cold. However, applications will now need the approval of two doctors and a new expert panel. This will be made up of a legal figure, psychiatrist and social worker — a key change from the original plan. EATING DISORDERS MPs accepted an amendment ruling out eligibility for anyone seeking to die solely due to stopping eating or drinking. Ms Leadbeater stressed the Bill would exclude those with eating disorders. It followed concern over the wording of the potential law would provide a loophole for those with anorexia to end their own lives. The Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olne tabled the amendment. The Royal College of Psychiatrists also expressed concern over any people with mental disorders such as anxiety or depression using the Bill in a similar way. END-OF-LIFE CARE Another amendment requiring ministers to assess the impact on palliative care within a year also passed. Charity Marie Curie warning this alone would not "make the improvements needed" in end-of-life care. REFLECTION PERIOD Some parts of the Bill have stayed the same, however. Two doctors must be independently satisfied a person is eligible for assisted dying. The medics must do their assessments at least seven days apart. There must be a 14-day "reflection period" if the High Court decides the patient can undergo assisted dying. If the two doctors are still satisfied once the period has been completed, the patients will be prescribed lethal drugs. THE PAPERWORK Brits who want to end their lives early must show have the mental capacity to make a choice about ending their life. They must also be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressure. If the patient can prove this, they will then have to make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, saying they want to die. WHAT IS IN THE BILL? The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill applies to those over 18, who are living in England or Wales, and have been registered with a GP for at least 12 months. They must have the mental capacity to make the choice. They must be informed and free from coercion or pressure before making the choice. According to the Bill, they must have a terminal illness and be expected to die within six months. It requires them to declare their wish twice, both witnessed and signed. Two doctors must be satisfied that these requirements are met before the application is approved. A doctor would prepare the substance being used to end the patient's life, but the person would take it themselves. Coercing someone into declaring they want to end their life will be illegal, with a possible 14-year prison sentence. However, a forensic expert who checked her body shortly after she died found injuries near her neck that appeared similar to strangulation marks. The American woman was reportedly terminally ill and had been dying for two years. She was diagnosed with Osteomyelitis - a disease that could have manifested the alleged injury marks on her neck - according to Dutch media. But her death raised a host of legal and ethical questions in Switzerland, where active euthanasia is banned but assisted dying has been legal for decades. Cops took several people into custody, including Dr Florian Willet, the president of The Last Resort organisation. The right-to-die activist, 47, suffered a mental breakdown after being arrested by Swiss Police last year, according to Dr Nitschke. As part of the probe, prosecutors investigated whether he strangled the woman, but that was ruled out. Willet was released in December after being held in pre-trial detention for 70 days. He reportedly died in Germany with the help of a specialist organisation, though it is not known exactly how he died.
Times
20-06-2025
- Health
- Times
Suicide pod will be ready to use in UK, inventor says
An Australian right-to-die campaigner has vowed to bring a double-suicide pod to the UK after the bill to legalise assisted dying passed its final vote in the Commons. MPs voted on Friday by a majority of 23 to approve Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The legislation will go to the next stage of scrutiny in the House of Lords but with the bill expected to become law, Dr Philip Nitschke, a prominent advocate for assisted dying, said he hoped to use his controversial Sarco suicide capsule in Britain for the first time. Terminally ill people in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live will be allowed to apply for an assisted death , subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.
