New Delhi: Suicide pods use suspended: The use of suicide pods or suicide capsules has been banned in Switzerland. This action was taken after the death of an American woman through a suicide pod. A criminal investigation was launched after the death of the 64-year-old woman, in which evidence of the use of this machine has been found. This woman was the first person to use this machine. More than 370 people were in the process of applying to use the pods, also known as 'Sarco'. All applications have now been suspended.

What is a suicide pod

The 'suicide pod or capsule' is a device in which a person sits on a reclining seat. He falls asleep and then dies of suffocation within a few minutes. The person needs to press a button that injects nitrogen gas from a tank below into the sealed chamber. It costs more than $1 million. 'Exit International' is a non-profit group funded by the government, which has built this machine.

Controversy

The controversy began last month when a 64-year-old American woman died after using the pod in northern Schaffhausen, near the German border. She had been in a forest and had been suffering from several serious immune-related problems for several years, according to the Last Resort organization, which introduced the Sarco pod in Zurich in July. Florian Willett, the organization's co-president, was the only other person to have had the pod.

After the woman's death, Swiss police arrested Willett and several others involved. Police confiscated the Sarco suicide capsule and took the deceased for post-mortem. On the same day the woman died, Swiss Health Minister Elisabeth Baum-Schneider told parliament that the use of Sarco would not be legal. However, the capsule's founding organization said its lawyers in Switzerland believe the device is legal to use.