Dr. Philip Nitschke has addressed the ongoing debate surrounding his controversial suicide pods.
Nitschke, a former physician, established the pro-euthanasia organization Exit International.
He developed a suicide pod, known as ‘Dr Death’, which was recently utilized by an American woman in Switzerland.
The woman, who remains unnamed, was 64 years old and suffered from a severely weakened immune system.
In late September, she chose to use the pod as her means to die. Her final conversation was with Florian Willet, co-president of The Last Resort, Switzerland’s latest assisted suicide group. She inquired whether she should leave her shoes on.
Apart from the controversy that often surrounds assisted suicide, there were reports that the woman had strangulation marks on her neck after her death.
Moreover, the legality of the pods in Switzerland is still unresolved, leading to multiple arrests, including that of Willet.
The Schaffhausen Police issued a statement: “The public prosecutor’s office of the canton of Schaffhausen has opened criminal proceedings against several persons for incitement, aiding, and abetting suicide (Article 115 of the Swiss Criminal Code) resulting in several persons being placed in police custody.”
“The public prosecutor’s office of the canton of Schaffhausen was informed on Monday, September 23, 2024, at 4:40 p.m. by a law firm that an assisted suicide with the Sarco capsule had taken place in the afternoon at a forest hut in Merishausen,” the statement continued.
“As a result, the Schaffhausen police, including the forensic emergency service, and the public prosecutor’s office of the canton of Schaffhausen went to the scene of the crime.”
Currently, Willet is incarcerated and may remain so until a trial can be held.
Nitschke has recently commented on the arrests, particularly regarding Willet’s situation.
“We’ve got to try and do something about the fact that Florian has been stuck in prison now for about 58 days,” Nitschke stated, according to ABC.
He has purportedly offered to travel to Switzerland to provide oxygen-level data from the capsule and video evidence recorded at the woman’s time of death.
“We will provide everything we’ve got,” he further stated.
Addressing rumors of strangulation, Nitschke called them ‘absurd’ and maintained that ‘we’ve got film that the capsule wasn’t opened’.
He also mentioned that the police have yet to accept his offer to assist with the investigation.