Dubbed Sarco, short for sarcophagus, the machine allows users to enter the wood coffin and, by simply pressing a button, flood the space with nitrogen. A painless death ensues with 10 minutes. The coffin can then be removed and replaced with a fresh vessel for its next user. The design is meant to invoke a space ship ferrying an individual into the unknown.
Nitschke hopes the machine will be available soon in Switzerland, where assisted suicide is already illegal, although the design has received pushback from the euthanasia community. Assisted suicide group Dignitas, for example, tells BBC assisted suicide should be a “safe and professionally conducted/supported practice” administered by trained staff working side by side with physicians.