U.S. Woman’s Death in ‘Suicide Capsule’ Leads to Multiple Arrests

Several people were arrested in Switzerland after an American woman became the first person to die using the controversial Sarco “suicide capsule” on Monday. Police in the Schaffhausen canton said the device—a human-sized pod which fills with nitrogen to cause death by hypoxia—was used at a forest hut, after which multiple arrests were made. The Last Resort, an assisted dying group which presented the Sarco device in Zurich in July, told the AFP that the woman who died was a 64-year-old from the midwestern United States. She was not named. According to the news agency, users of the pod must first pass a psychiatric evaluation. They then climb inside the capsule, close the door, and answer automated questions asking if they know who and where they are, and if they realize what will happen if they proceed. In a statement, local police said the prosecutor’s office had opened criminal proceedings against several people “for inducement and aiding and abetting suicide.”

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988.

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