Breathe
By Mónica Hernández
Sarco, short for Sarcophagus, is the name of the company that has already entered the world of the living to assist some in their journey to the afterlife, the world of the dead. The artifact, a kind of capsule-shaped space bed (I imagine that if Snow White had lived in the 21st century she would have used it because it looks comfortable, is airtight and has, like the coffin of the non-infantile tale, a glass ceiling) is ready and has been successfully tested. Quite a statement of intent. In the images it looks white with blue and it also looks like Superman's bed when his parents sent him to planet Earth so that the bad guys would not capture him.
How does it work? The suicidal person gets into the airtight capsule, closes the inside and hits the switch that releases nitrogen gas inside (airtight I repeat), which causes the amount of oxygen to be reduced to lethal levels. That is, death by asphyxiation. Something like you are falling asleep. It has an emergency button in case the user regrets at the last or penultimate moment (there are not many moments, because once the nitrogen sneaks into your system you can not press the panic button even if your conscience asks you to do so). The accessibility lies in the fact that the contraption can be paid for and downloaded to the computer, for 3D printing. Assemble it yourself. Mentally think about it while you build it. The layman of death. No third party guilt-bearers involved, no drugs, no injections, no blood. Sounds macabre. Maybe it is.
The key word in the above paragraph is suicidal. The device was designed by Australian physician Philip Nitschke for the Sarco company (of which he is a majority shareholder) to help people who can no longer cope with their lives (or their souls, as we say in Mexico) to die well. He did so thinking of those who have decided to end the suffering they carry. The doctor has dedicated himself since the 1990s to assisting people to die. But it seems that it is not so simple. Why? Because all over the world (except in Switzerland) suicide and assisted dying are criminalized. It seems ridiculous: if you kill yourself you get the law and maybe jail. And your relatives and caregivers too. Absurd.
Last July, an American woman whose immune system went haywire traveled to the German border, more specifically to a beautiful Swiss forest in Merishausen to use the capsule and put an end to her ordeal. As it could not be otherwise, several people have been arrested. Note: in Switzerland assisted dying is legal as long as certain circumstances are met. And there are several companies dedicated to this process (there is even a whole niche market, that of suicide tourism in this small country. Companies such as Exit International (also owned by Dr. Nitschke), Last Resort and others conclude more than 1,000 euthanasias per year. And growing). Faced with this response from the government, the doctor who designed the device proposes to share the plans - free of charge - on the Internet so that everyone can decide. He finds it dignified in contrast to other indignities such as violence, war, global warming, burkas, rhino hunting, fentanyl and drugs.
I reread this last sentence and cannot but be filled with astonishment. Death is illegal all over the world. So... What about Ukraine? What about Gaza? Israel? Lebanon? Death is still illegal but all these deaths seem to be justified. Contrary to Sarco's employees, there are no arrests, no trials for these deaths that number in the tens of thousands.
The bitterest tears that are shed over graves are over words unspoken and for deeds not done, once wrote Harriet Beecher Stowe, writer best known for Uncle Tom's Cabin.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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