Founder of Exit International Dr Philip Nitschke has developed a machine that will help people die in peace without pain.
Dr Nitschke also knows as Dr Death, is the founder of Exit International. He has been helping people with Euthanasia (the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering) if they are above 50 and suffering from “unbearable pain” because of a terminal illness.
The doctor believes that “It is one’s own choice to end life whenever they want, and each person has the right to choose.”
Dr Death worked on a new suicide portable machine called ‘Sarco’ that will allow volunteers to die in peace, without suffering.
Dr Nitschke met several people in Australia who wanted to end their lives but didn’t have enough medical reasons for the approval. He mentioned during the interview that he met a French woman, a scholar, who had “planned to die at age 80. Not because she was sick, but simply because she thought that was a beautiful age to pass away. When I [Dr Nitschke] responded with initial scepticism, she answered that it wasn’t his place to judge her. She said it was her decision, one that isn’t bound by the rules I follow as a doctor.”
The biggest scepticism he gets against his philosophy is that “There is no such thing as rational suicide, and that a death wish is, per definition, the result of a psychiatric illness.”
He said, “I reject that idea.”
Dr Nitschke argued that death should be a choice. People violently end their lives. People hang themselves or jump in front of a train. In the United Kingdom (UK), death from hanging is the most common method. It is preferable to rather die peacefully (in Sarco) than horribly killing yourself.
Here is how the machine works. He explained that “after you have taken your seat inside the machine, nitrogen starts flowing. After a minute and a half you start to feel disoriented (a feeling comparable to that of having a few too many drinks) and a few minutes later you lose consciousness. In about five minutes, you’re gone. The only way to control the coffin is from the inside, so it’s not possible to kill someone with it. You can also choose either a dark or transparent view, so you can take the machine somewhere if you prefer a certain view.”
The ideas and innovation of Dr Nitschke have received lots of attention, and recently he is getting death threats from unknown people.
