{"id":4429,"date":"2018-04-16T10:41:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T02:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exitinternational.net\/?p=4429"},"modified":"2018-04-16T19:59:05","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T11:29:05","slug":"nitschkes-suicide-machine-draws-crowds-at-amsterdam-funeral-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euthanasia.net\/exit\/nitschkes-suicide-machine-draws-crowds-at-amsterdam-funeral-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"WASH POST: Nitschke’s ‘suicide machine’ draws crowds at Amsterdam funeral fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

A controversial suicide pod that enables its occupant to kill themselves at the press of a button went on display at an Amsterdam funeral show on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Called the \u201cSarco\u201d, short for sarcophagus, the 3D-printed machine invented by Australian euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke and Dutch designer Alexander Bannink comes with a detachable coffin, mounted on a stand that contains a nitrogen canister.<\/p>\n

\"Philip<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe person who wants to die presses the button and the capsule is filled with nitrogen. He or she will feel a bit dizzy but will then rapidly lose consciousness and die,\u201d said Nitschke. The Sarco was a device \u201cto provide people with a death when they wish to die,\u201d Nitschke said.<\/p>\n

The inventors put a model of the device on display, together with a set of virtual reality glasses to give visitors a true-to-life experience of what it would be like to sit in the pod, before ultimately pressing the button.<\/p>\n

Nitschke said he aimed to build the first fully functioning pod before the end of the year.<\/p>\n

After that, the design will be put online as an open-source document for people to download. \u201cThat means that anybody who wants to build the machine can download the plans and 3D-print their own device,\u201d Nitschke said.<\/p>\n

\"Alexander<\/a><\/p>\n

Asked about the controversy surrounding euthanasia and legal hurdles, Nitschke said: \u201cIn many countries suicide is not against the law, only assisting a person to commit suicide is. This is a situation where one person chooses to press a button … rather than for instance standing in front of a train.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe it\u2019s a fundamental human right [to choose when to die]. It\u2019s not just some medical privilege for the very sick. If you\u2019ve got the precious gift of life, you should be able to give that gift away at the time of your choosing,\u201d Nitschke said.<\/p>\n

Thousands of visitors flocked to the annual Amsterdam funeral fair at the city\u2019s famous Westerkerk, where all the latest trends in death, such as biodegradable coffins and a hot-rod funeral hearse were on display.<\/p>\n

But the Sarco drew large crowds, many curious to try out the device\u2019s chair and virtual reality glasses. Piet Verstraaten, 52, from the eastern Dutch city of Venray, said: \u201cIt was really an experience and a strange thing to see. But very pretty and calm. You see the moon, you see the sea. It\u2019s very calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others, however, were not impressed. \u201cWell, I think it\u2019s quite silly. It\u2019s stupid. I don\u2019t get it. I\u2019m not interested in a real \u2018Sarco\u2019. No.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A controversial suicide pod that enables its occupant to kill themselves at the press of a button went on display at an Amsterdam funeral show on Saturday. Called the \u201cSarco\u201d, short for sarcophagus, the 3D-printed machine invented by Australian euthanasia activist Philip Nitschke and Dutch designer Alexander Bannink comes with a detachable coffin, mounted on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[5],"tags":[91,93,25,92,16,15,44,35,94],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n