Legal Despite the Controversy
While assisted suicide has been legal in Switzerland since the 1940s, the suicide pod sparked some controversy but has since been welcomed by medical professionals. For example, Florian Willet works with an organization that “offers assisted dying to people with serious physical illnesses.” He explained Sarco will take part in its first assisted suicide “pretty soon.”
Privacy Regarding a Sensitive Matter
In contrast, there haven’t been any official plans regarding the time, date, or place of the first use of the suicide pod. Nor has a user been disclosed. Furthermore, it’s unknown if that information will be made public because “we really don’t want a person’s desire for a peaceful passing [in] Switzerland to turn into a media circus,” said Fiona Stewart, a lawyer on The Last Resort’s advisory board. Meanwhile, she explained that the suicide pod’s first use would likely be sometime this year. However, footage from inside the suicide pod is given to the coroner after the pod has done its job.
