Australian doctor Philip Nitsuke, who developed Sarco, entered the device / AP= Yonhap News
The use of "Sarco," an assistive death device that allows you to end your life in five minutes without pain by entering the capsule and pressing the button, has been stopped.
According to the Associated Press on the 6th, the assisted death advocacy group Dust Resort, which is in charge of the sale and operation of the assisted death capsule device Sarco, said on the same day, "We will stop recruiting new applicants," adding, "We will not proceed with the assisted suicide procedure of 371 people who are on the waiting list so far."
The procedure has been completely suspended since the death of the first user. On the 23rd of last month, a 64-year-old American woman who suffered from an immune disease killed herself using a sarco in a forest in Merris Haugen, Switzerland.
Sarco, which was first unveiled in July this year, promoted it extensively at the launch press conference, saying, "If you pay only 18 Swiss francs (about 28,000 won), you can sleep forever." It is large enough for one person to lie down, and when you close the lid and press the button, nitrogen is emitted and suffocated to death within about 5 minutes.
Switzerland is a forward-looking country for assisted suicide, but the news of the woman sparked a fierce debate. The Swiss government rejected Sarco's application for medical device approval, saying it had "no medical utility," and organizations in favor of assisted suicide also opposed Sarco's permission, saying there was a "high risk of abuse."
Switzerland, which has been operating a 'tidal suicide' system since 1942, only targets terminally ill people and must consult a doctor twice and go through a meditation period. However, many point out that Sarco is not compatible with Switzerland's assisted suicide system because people over 50 can apply for use if they have a mental health certificate.
Swiss police arrested several people involved in the sale and operation of Sarco for aiding and instigating the killing in a way that was not permitted by law, but released them all.
Reporter Park Sun-young of Digital News Team
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