Warning: This article mentions topics of suicide and euthanasia
The controversial use of the 'suicide pod' is continuing to grab the attention of the national media, and while the Sarco pod has only been used once, the death of a 64-year-old American woman in 2024 remains controversial.
Originally designed in 2017, euthanasia campaigner Dr. Philip Nitschke has been championing the Sarco pod to provide a "peaceful, reliable, and drug-free" death for years.
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Unlike the concept of the 'Euthanasia Coaster', the Sarco pod has actually been constructed and put into practice in September 2024.
Dr. Florian Willet is the co-president of the right-to-die organization known as The Last Resort and was thought to be the only person there at the time. Writing on The Last Resort site, Willet described the unnamed woman's death as "peaceful, fast and dignified," saying that it took place "under a canopy of trees, at a private forest retreat."
Nitschke said the machine had worked as planned and that he was "pleased that the Sarco had performed exactly as it had been designed to do: that is to provide an elective, non-drug, peaceful death at the time of the person’s choosing."
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Speaking to the Exit Podcast - The Good Death in November 2024, Nitschke explained how he watched a video screen and added: "She entered the capsule unassisted, she pressed the button when she was ready.
“The oxygen level dropped, we've got documentation for all of this.
"She lost consciousness within, we estimate, two minutes and died in about six minutes."
Expanding on how the process works a little more, Nitschke told the Mike Connors on the How It Ticks podcast that the pod filling with nitrogen gas decreases the oxygen levels and can render the person inside unconscious after a minute.
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Connors admitted he was 'surprised' to learn there was a painless way to do it, adding: "So there’s no struggle from the body, gasping for oxygen?"
Saying there just needs to be a very sudden drop in oxygen, Nitschke explained that participants step inside, and after pressing a button, they're 'filling the lungs up with zero oxygen." In terms of science, there's a 'precipitous drop' in the amount of oxygen in your blood going from your heart, past your lungs, and into your brain: "That drops off precipitously, so that the blood gets to your brain with no oxygen. Your brain immediately conserves what little oxygen it’s got, and it does that quickly by you losing consciousness."
With the person inside the Sarco pod left in a 'zero oxygen environment', he reiterated that it's "not the same sort of death you get when you obstruct the breathing... those are horrible deaths."
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Nitschke concluded: “With this, you breathe easily, but there’s no oxygen, so it’s hypoxia, you're unconscious. Then step by step, different essential activities controlled by your brain are switched down."
Although some muscle contractions occur, he said it's not a case of the participant "having a horrible time and being tortured to death" because these are perfectly natural.
Be warned, though, Nitschke has said that once the button is pressed, there's no going back.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
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If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.