Beware of the Sarco
It is shocking – and deeply sad – to think that a few minutes after this photo was taken the 55-year-old woman climbed into the machine, pressed the button and committed suicide. May she rest in peace. The ‘Sarco Pod’ – from the word ‘sarcophagus’ – was invented in 2017 by the euthanasia campaigner Philip Nitschke, as a device to help people commit suicide. Like a gas chamber, its operation is simple. When the user lies back and the lid is closed, s/he presses a button to activate it. Liquid nitrogen floods the cabin, causing the oxygen level to drop to less than 5% in under a minute. The user will at first feel a bit dizzy but then rapidly lose consciousness and die. Users can choose either a dark or transparent lid for the capsule. The transparent view would be chosen if they wished to view relatives gathered round or to die in a particular place. In the case here, the woman had decided she wanted to die within a woodland setting. The design of the suicide pod is intended to resemble that of a spaceship, Nitschke says, in order to give users the feel that they are traveling to the “great beyond.”
Reactions to all this vary. Some see the Sarco, which is “designed to be aesthetically beautiful” and comes in a range of different colours, as a glorified gas chamber that glamourises suicide and will lead to many more deaths by suicide. Others, such as Exit International, suggest it offers legislators a new end-of-life option, showing up the limitations of the medical model (e.g. a lethal injection). As a Christian, the very concept of the Sarco is abominable. Our life is a gift from God. No matter how ill or emotionally disturbed we might be, it is not up to us to end it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church 2280ff succinctly expresses our faith: “Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honour and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of. Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbour because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God. If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal. Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law.”
We know that many in the media and the government are now committed to bringing in assisted suicide, and even euthanasia, for the sick, the elderly, those with mental illnesses and the dying. The ideology behind all this is the very ideology Britain fought in World War Two! As Catholics, we must pray and do all we can to call people back to their senses. Bringing in assisted suicide will change the culture of our society – for ever.
[Image: Daily Mail]
