Couple signs up to use Aussie’s suicide pod and die in each other’s arms

A couple married for 46 years have said they want to become one of the first to die in a futuristic death capsule invented by an Australian.

A couple from the UK will become one of the first to make use of a double suicide pod, invented by an Australian, to end their lives.

The machine, known as the Sarco, can be turned into death mode with a simple flick of a switch from inside the futuristic capsule that resembles a modern car.

Peter and Christine Scott, from Suffolk in England’s east, have revealed they intend to travel to Switzerland to die to together after Ms Scott, a former nurse, was diagnosed with early-stage vascular dementia.

The pair have been married for 46 years after meeting in a jazz club.

Married for almost 50 years, Peter and Christine Scott wish to die together in Switzerland

The couple have said they don’t want to go through the indignity of potentially years of hospital treatment and the crippling costs of care which could whittle away their life savings.

“We have had long, happy, healthy, fulfilled lives but here we are in old age and it does not do nice things to you,” Mr Scott, 86, told The Daily Mail.

“The idea of watching the slow degradation of Chris’s mental abilities in parallel to my own physical decline is horrific to me,” the former Royal Air Force pilot added.

“Obviously I would care for her to the point I could not, but she has nursed enough people with dementia during her career to be adamant she wants to remain in control of herself and her life”.

“I would not want to go on living without her,” he said of his 80-year-old wife.

“I don’t want to go into care, to be lying in bed dribbling and incontinent – I don’t call that a life”.

The Sarco suicide pod invented by Dr Philip Nitschke, founder of Exit International. Pic: Dr Philip Nitschke.

English law does not allow for euthanasia so the pair have had to go abroad for the procedure which Mr Scott said he found “deeply depressing”.

Ms Scott has already planned her final days.

“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,” she said.

“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”.

The Sarco machine was invented by Australian Dr Philip Nitschke who has been behind a number of initiates to allow legal euthanasia and has designed and created several assisted dying devices.

He campaigned for euthanasia to be made legal in the Northern Territory which was overturned by the Australian Government.

Every Australian state now has legal voluntary assisted dying schemes in place. However, the Federal Court has ruled that voluntary assisted dying is now considered suicide under criminal law. That definition means that a doctor who give patients information about euthanasia using a carriage service – such as email or over the phone – could face criminal charges. But the advice can still be given in person.

Euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke. Picture: Jerad Williams.

The 3D printed Sarco capsule kills by pumping the pod with nitrogen which replaces the oxygen in the pod. The person is rendered unconscious within about a minute without, its claimed, any panic or distress.

With falling oxygen, the person eventually suffocates.

Dr Nitschke said the machine is activated by a button from inside the pod.

“The capsule for two people works exactly the same as the single Sarco but there is only one button so they will decide between them who will push it,” he told The Daily Mail.

“Then they’ll be able to hold each other”.

Assisted dying has been strongly criticised by some, including Pope Francis.

In April, the Catholic Church declared that “suffering does not cause the sick to lose their dignity”.

“Instead, suffering can become an opportunity to strengthen the bonds of mutual belonging and gain greater awareness of the precious value of each person to the whole human family.

“Death … must be welcomed, not administered.”

Originally published as Couple signs up to use Aussie’s suicide pod and die in each other’s arms