Technology
‘Dr Death’ who invented suicide pod has plan for body implant that kills you if you forget to deactivate it once a day
A DOCTOR has revealed his plans to create a body implant that kills you if you forget to deactivate it once a day.
Euthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke, also known as ‘Dr Death’ is designing the lethal implants for people who may develop dementia.
TwitterEuthanasia advocate Dr Philip Nitschke – also known as Dr Death[/caption]
He has already invented a ‘suicide pod’
Users that have it inserted would have to press a button once a day to stop poison being leaked from the device.
His concept would mean that if someone delevloped dementia they would forget to press the button – and therefore end their life.
Dr Nitschke told The Independent: “When a person has dementia, they can nowadays quite legally in some places fill out a bit of paper 10 years ago, when they are of sound mind, saying ‘if I get like this, kill me’.
“Now, 10 years later, a doctor can come along, read the bit of paper, and even though you don’t know which way is up or down, legally give you an injection and end your life. That makes a lot of people feel pretty uncomfortable, and certainly makes me feel uncomfortable.
“So what we’re working on here is some sort of an implant which you have to switch off every day. When you’ve forgotten why you’re switching something off that’s beeping, then you will die.
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“That puts the responsibility right back onto the person and allows them to get what they want, which is that they do not want to live on as some form of vegetable, with no one prepared to end their lives.”
He added that it could beep for “a day or two” before activating to make sure that the dementia had progressed far enough – and so that users without dementia don’t just simply forget.
It comes after he designed a coffin-like capsule that allows people to end their life – and which could be used in Switzerland from next year.
The Sarco suicide pod allows a user to lie down and activate the process themselves within a matter of minutes.
Individuals are asked a series of questions before they can press a button, which brings oxygen down to a critical level.
‘SUICIDE POD’
Nitrogen fills the 3D-printed device, quickly bringing oxygen down from 21 per cent to only 1 per cent in about 30 seconds.
A “disorientated” and “euphoric” feeling then follows, before they eventually lose consciousness.
Death takes places due to hypoxia (low oxygen in the body’s tissues) and hypocapnia (reduced carbon dioxide in the blood), followed by critical oxygen and carbon dioxide deprivation.
Around 1,300 people ended their life using assisted suicide in Switzerland last year.
The Swiss government is yet to make clear whether it intends to allow use of the capsule.
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.
YOU’RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
TwitterDr Nitschke has long been a controversial figure in the assisted dying debate[/caption]
