'Suicide pod' application process suspended by advocacy groups amid Swiss criminal probe

Swiss authorities are investigating the usage of a so-called suicide pod and has triggered a debate among politicians in the country that is known for being among the most permissive of assisted dying

Advocacy groups behind a so-called suicide pod have said they suspended the process of taking applications to use it amid a criminal investigation into its first use in Switzerland.

The president of the group The Last Resort, Florian Willet, is being held in pretrial detention, according to group Exit International, an affiliate founded in Australia. Swiss police apprehended him and several others following the death of an unidentified 64-year-old woman from the US who became the first person to use the "Sarco" device on September 23, near the German border.

Others initially detained were released from custody, authorities said. Switzerland is among one of the countries with the most permissive laws in the world when it comes to assisted suicide, although the first use of Sarco prompted a debate among politicians.

Laws in the country permit assisted suicide as long as the person takes their life without any "external assistance" and those who help the person die do not do so for "any self-serving motive," reported AP. The advocacy groups said in a statement that 371 people were "in the process of applying" to use the Sarco in Switzerland as of September 23 and applications were suspended after its first use.

Exit International, whose founder Dr Philip Nitschke is based in the Netherlands, is behind the 3D-printed device that cost more than 1 million dollars to develop. Meanwhile, the UK Parliament will consider a bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people. The bill will be presented to Parliament on October 16.

The bill is expected to only be made available for mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or less to live to choose whether they end their lives. Under current laws, assisted suicide is punishable by upward of 14 years in jail, Reuters reported.

A poll by Dignity in Dying, an advocacy group in favour of assisted dying, said 75 per cent of a sample of 10,897 people said it should be lawful. It also found 14 per cent said they were against it.

Campaigners who are against assisted dying argue that it would open the door to potentially having people feel pressured to die to relieve themselves of being a burden to family or friends. They also argue it could lead to a "slippery slope" where it is expanded to other groups beyond the terminally ill.

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