Fury as banned Swiss ‘suicide pod’ is USED for the first time killing US woman, 64, as cops make multiple arrests

A BANNED “suicide pod” designed to euthanize patients has been used for the first time to end a woman’s life in Switzerland.

Swiss police said that several people have been arrested after the controversial Sarco pod was used to kill the woman.

The anonymous woman, identified as an American citizen, was said to be seriously ill and had been dying for two years.

She is said to have travelled all the way to Switzerland specifically to use the suicide capsule, local media reports.

The woman initiated the dying process herself by pressing a button while lying in the capsule – a cabin the size of a coffin.

The space-age-looking Sarco capsule, first unveiled in 2019, is a portable, human-sized pod which replaces the oxygen inside it with nitrogen, causing death by hypoxia.

The person would be unconscious before they die.

Police in the northern Schaffhausen canton said the capsule had been used Monday at a forest hut, after which several people were taken into custody — and are now facing criminal proceedings.

The capsule has raised a host of legal and ethical questions in Switzerland, where active euthanasia is banned but assisted dying has been legal for decades.

It is self-operated by a button on the inside, providing death without medical supervision.

Cops said in a statement: “The public prosecutor’s office of the canton of Schaffhausen has opened criminal proceedings against several people for inducement and aiding and abetting suicide… and several people have been placed in police custody.”

Police along with the forensic emergency service and the public prosecutor’s office “went to the crime scene”.

The Sarco suicide capsule was secured and the deceased was taken away for an autopsy.

The Last Resort organisation, an assisted dying group, presented the Sarco pod in Zurich in July, saying they expected it to be used for the first time within months and saw no legal obstacle to its use in Switzerland.

It comes as Switzerland’s interior minister said it was not compliant with Swiss law.

Elisabeth Baume-Schneider said on Monday: “Firstly, it does not meet the requirements of product safety law and therefore cannot be placed on the market.

“Secondly, the corresponding use of nitrogen is not compatible with the purpose article of the Chemicals Act.”

The 3D-printable capsule cost more than 650,000 euros ($720,000) to research and develop in the Netherlands over 12 years.

To use the Sarco, the person wishing to die must first pass a psychiatric assessment.

The person climbs into the purple capsule, closes the lid, and is asked automated questions such as who they are, where they are and if they know what happens when they press the button.

The Sarco pod is then filled with nitrogen gas.

Many pro-life groups have warned the pods, made by a 3D printer, “glamourise suicide”.

James Mildren, Director of engagement pro-life group CARE, said: “Philip Nitschke’s device has been condemned by a broad range of commentators. 

“Many people feel that it trivialises, and even glamourises suicide. 

“We believe that suicide is a tragedy that good societies seek to prevent in every circumstance.

“There are ethical ways to help human beings that don’t involve the destruction of life.”

Around 1,250 people ended their lives using assisted suicide in Switzerland last year.

Both assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal in the UK.

For anyone struggling to cope, call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or contact other sources of support, such as those listed on the NHS’s help for suicidal thoughts webpage.