Controversial euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke will return to Lismore on February 3 to run a DIY suicide workshop for the elderly.
Dr Nitschke, who is critical of Victoria’s new highly regulated euthanasia laws, will also be introducing plans for his new ‘deliverance machine’ that he has dubbed Sarco.
Exit International’s legal director, Tasha Russell, told Echonetdaily that the machine, which will be available next year, could be downloaded and 3D printed by anyone but a code that would enable its use would be restricted to mentally sound individuals over the age of 50.
The machine, which doubles as a coffin, would seal the user inside and release nitrogen gas on their voice command.
Over a period of about five minutes he nitrogen displaces the oxygen in the capsule, leading to loss of consciousness and death.
Ms Russell said that Dr Nitschke’s view was that ‘any adult of sound mind should be legally allowed to take their own life if they wished to do so’.
Exit considered the Victorian law ‘very restrictive’, she said.
‘It doesn’t allow very many people to use it. There are restrictions that limit it to people who have only six months to live. All of the process to get your approval at the end of your life when you are actually suffering.
‘A very big majority of our members are not actually terminally ill people. They might be seriously ill people who are suffering quite badly but [their condition] might continue for 40 or 50 years. These people won’t get any help.
‘But we also have a lot of people who are getting old. There are things starting to go wrong. They might have Parkinsons or Alzheimers. Alzheimers people won’t be able to be helped under the Victorian law.’
Ms Russell said Exit’s information is only distributed to those over 50 years of age, ‘and we do require ID from people to make sure that they are over that age’.
She added that while Exit didn’t have a benchmark of what constitutes seriously ill, Dr Nitschke ‘knows illnesses and we talk to him about whether he thinks it a serious illness.’
‘We do take it very much on a case-by-case basis,’ she said, ‘because there are so many different illnesses.
Ms Russell said the issue of an elective death as a fundamental right of the elderly – for whatever reason, rather than simply being seen as a medical procedure for the terminally ill – was a change that was gaining strength across the world.
Those attending the Lismore workshop will be given the most recent information on the newest end of life strategies and options. And they will leave knowing the best and most reliable ways of ending their lives at the time of their choosing.
‘Those attending will hope they never need to use this information, but will leave the workshop comforted in the knowledge that if they have to end their lives they now know the best ways to put their own plans into place, without someone telling them whether they are suffering enough,’ Ms Russell said.
Dr Nitschke’s Exit International meeting will take place on February 3, 1-4pm at the Lismore Workers Club, 231 Keen St, Lismore.
It is my understanding that Phillip Nitschske has been struck off by the AMA and not allowed to practice medicine
Therefore he should not be called Doctor.
So called ‘doctor death’ pushes his evil agenda to gratify his own ego and purposes.
Although I believe in a persons right to medically end their life if their life if their illness is incurable and prolonged or they are in intractable pain, Nitschske believes everyone should be able to suicide whenever they feel like it.
I believe this is amoral and evil. The Victorian legislation recently passed is not perfect but it is designed to give people some dignity in end of life and protect people from unscrupulous, opportunistic individuals like Nitschske. Don’t be fooled …
I for one will not be attending his ‘meeting’
He “the pushes his evil agenda to gratify his own ego and purposes”.
What rubbish.
You don’t give the cost. What is it?
Re above comment, “doctor” is an advanced degree, granted by a university and has nothing to do with licensure. JWT, MD, MPH
The SARCO It is a complete fantasy, a pretty photoshop job. It is yet another device Nitschke is using to promote membership of Exit, his website and sales of the Peaceful Pill Handbook.
He used exactly the same tactic when he promoted the Destiny Machine, another figment of his wild imagination.
Just look at the practicalities. Starting with the blindingly obvious. A 3D printer capable of printing such a beast would need to be the size of a small truck, would not fit into most houses and would be prohibitively expensive. Don’t even start me on the technicalities of the computer, power supply, gas valves, etc., etc.
It is complete nonsense. This does not in any way invalidate questions when it comes to euthanasia, but one should definitely question Nitschke’s continual exploitation of the vulnerable.
Next Phillip…?
Philip N is all about selling subscriptions to his electronic book. To date, he (Fiona, actually) gets millions in revenue every year. This is from the vulnerable, desperate people who buy it.
Latest offering is sodium nitrite, the “new peaceful pill”. It is simply appalling, and abhorrent.
No-one calls them out. These people profit from death. Every genuine VE activist in Australia has distanced themselves from these people.
Should the Dark Vada machine fall into the “wrong” hands ???????
Many people with problems and who want to end it all could find this an interesting machine.
NOT a viable piece of equipment to have “lying around”
At the end of the day most people have a pretty good idea of how to end their lives if physically capable….its just all a bit messy for those left behind.
People suicide every hour of the day in Australia and by the very nature of our laws are viewed as lesser and as a failure, victimised by insurance companies and the like.
I question that these individuals may in fact be more highly evolved than the rest of us….as a society we have to stop viewing suicide as a victims response to life.
You are spot on, Lynne. People do suicide everyday, and in a very messy way, causing a lot of grief for ambulance personnel, police, train drivers, truck drivers; not to mention family members who find them hanged, shot, swallowed rat poison or Draino or some other horrendous way to end their life. Read the Victorian Coroner’s Report on suicides over the past few years; it will make your hair curl! All Dr Nitschke has ever tried to do was to give people over the age of 50, or the terminally ill, information on how to achieve a peaceful and painless death, rather than the above options, if that is the way they choose to go. I think he should be praised for this, not abused and misrepresented by the media.