Warning: Article mentions topics of suicide and euthanasia
The controversial ‘suicide pod’, where a British couple plan to end their lives together, asks users three questions before death.
Peter and Christine Scott intend to die in each other’s arms inside a double suicide pod after receiving a heartbreaking diagnosis.
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Christine was diagnosed with early-stage vascular dementia and Peter has said that he ‘would not want to go on living without her’.
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He went on to say: “I’ve said to her, ‘You make the decision and I’ll be with you’. Death holds no problem for me whatsoever.
“I’d just give her a big hug and say, ‘Hope to see you later’.”
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The Sarco pod was created by Philip Nitschke, who is also known as Doctor Death.
His company, Exit International, describes itself as providing ‘information and education about practical DIY end of life choices to rational adults (aged >50 years)’.
According to Nitschke, the pod works within 10 minutes by replacing oxygen with nitrogen in what Exit International describes as ‘a peaceful, even euphoric death’.
But how does it work?
Nitschke explained to MailOnline that users would be asked three questions upon entering the machine.
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The questions would be: ‘Who are you?’, ‘Where are you?’ and ‘Do you know what happens if you press the button?’
“If they answer those questions verbally, the software then switches the power on so that the button can then be pressed,” he said.
“And if they press the button they will die very quickly. When you climb into Sarco the oxygen level is 21% but after you press the button it takes 30 seconds for the oxygen to drop to less than one per cent.”
The pods cost between $4,000 (£3,100) and $8,000 (£6,200), and were in the final stages of being prepared for use in Switzerland.
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If you wanted to use the Sarco Pod, you’d need to be a member of Exit International, according to MailOnline.
This comes at a price of $100 ($78) to sign up to. Switzerland also has strict criteria around who is eligible for assisted death.
Peter and Christine intend to sign up with The Last Resort, which offers a controversial new method.
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Peter and Christine, who first met in a jazz club and now share six grandchildren, are planning out what their final days will look like.
Christine said: “I’d like to go walking with Peter in the Swiss Alps, by a river.
“I’d have a beautiful plate of fish for my last supper, and enjoy a great bottle of Merlot.
“I’d make a playlist including Wild Cat Blues and The Young Ones by Cliff Richard and I’ve found a poem called Miss Me But Let Me Go, which sums up exactly how I feel.
“It’s a lovely life but I have this diagnosis, and that’s crystallized our thinking.”