Jennifer McLaughlin’s Plan to Use ‘Suicide Capsule’ in Switzerland Ends Tragically
Jennifer McLaughlin, 55, an American woman scheduled to be the first person to use a “suicide pod,” has been found dead, her friends revealed. McLaughlin had traveled to Switzerland to use the Sarco pod, a device that allows users to end their life with a push of a button.
The introduction of a controversial suicide pod has been “permanently postponed” following the death of its first intended user. Dr. Philip Nitschke, or “Dr. Death,” had arranged for the woman in her 50s to use the Sarco pod, an advanced assisted dying system. However, Swiss prosecutors in Schaffhausen Canton warned Nitschke that proceeding with the launch could result in severe legal repercussions.
Similar cases and context
Catherine Kassenoff, a former special counsel to the governor of New York, allegedly took her own life in Switzerland through assisted suicide after a terminal cancer diagnosis. She also cited domestic violence in a poignant suicide note on Facebook. Additionally, music icon Tina Turner was believed to have considered assisted suicide due to chronic health issues.
Communication and disappearance
McLaughlin informed her lawyer and closest friends via email about her “procedure” to end her life. Her friends reported her missing to the police, who confirmed her death on Tuesday evening. The US Embassy in Switzerland confirmed she died in the European country.
The Embassy stated McLaughlin died on Friday after receiving care from a Swiss assisted dying organization not affiliated with Exit International, the firm behind the Sarco pod.
McLaughlin, a former insurance company worker from Columbus, Georgia, began experiencing major health issues in 2017, spending three months in the hospital. She also lost her mother several years later and “never really recovered,” according to her lawyer.
Attorney Fife Whitehouse, McLaughlin’s legal counsel for 15 years, told MailOnline, “[Jennifer] was a wonderfully quirky, articulate, and intelligent person, someone who you would have a hard time forgetting. She was one of those people whose loss makes the world a little darker. It saddens all of us who knew her.”
What is the Sarco pod?
Initially scheduled for use on July 17, the Sarco pod’s deployment was deferred by a euthanasia group called “The Last Resort,” which announced the device would be used within the next year. Developed by Exit International, the 3D-printed capsule promises a “painless death” within minutes by flooding the chamber with nitrogen, rapidly reducing oxygen levels.
Nitschke invented the Sarco pod to provide a “peaceful, reliable, drug-free” method of assisted dying, granting patients full control over their final moments. The device can be activated via voice control and eye movement, catering to those with severe illnesses and mobility issues. Nitschke has contemplated introducing the Sarco pods to the United Kingdom and has stated he “will probably use the Sarco” in his final days instead of being “in a miserable state while seriously ill.”