Is the Use of the Sarco Suicide Machine Ethical?

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Is the Use of the Sarco Suicide Machine Ethical?
Death is inevitable. At some point in life, everyone will die. However, the factors that lead to death differ. Some individuals experience a slow natural death due to old age. Others become terminally ill, and they die in pain. If asked, many people would want to die in dignity, which is sometimes compromised by human suffering. In some countries, euthanasia is an accepted practice where healthcare professionals are allowed to inject a terminally sick patient with a dose of morphine enough to take his or her life away. Additionally, capital punishment is a common practice in various nations. The only missing thing in the above scenarios is the mode of death that facilitates individuals’ dignity when dying. The most significant question to ask is how a terminally ill patient or someone sentenced to death will die in dignity when the time comes. Although the use of the Sarco machine is ethical, assisted suicide should be prohibited since people do not have the right to choose who dies or lives.
The Sarco machine is a three-dimensional printable device that kills individuals through hypoxia. Dr. Philip Nitschke, Exit International founder and an Australian euthanasia activist, and Alexander Bannink, a Dutch engineer, came up with the Sarco pod (Murdock). Hypoxia refers to an environment with low oxygen levels. For this reason, individuals who use the Sarco suicide machine experience a slow painless death. They do not suffocate or choke. In other words, they die with dignity. Nitschke says, “After the code is entered and an additional confirmation is given, liquid nitrogen in the generator is released, rapidly bringing down the oxygen level in the capsule. Within a minute, the user loses consciousness; death comes a short time later” (Nitschke). Here, the author shows the process of death. A potential user must first pass an online test that gauges his or her mental fitness. After passing the test, one gets a code that should be used within 24 hours. Most importantly, the individual must be aged 50 years and above. The Sarco suicide device provides a more dignified way of people to die without forming gruesome scenes (Goodkind). Since lethal injections are not 100% effective, the use of the suicide machine is the most humane way of administering capital punishment. Consequently, the age limit makes the blueprint of the Sarco machine inaccessible to young people who might decide to die due to normal life challenges.
Even though Nitschke had good intentions when introducing the Sarco suicide machine, it can have numerous potential abuses or detrimental consequences. If the blueprint of the machine is made available to people over the Internet, it will be hard to control who downloads the prototype. In that case, serial killers or individuals under the age of 50 years might print the machine intending to hurt others or themselves. Notably, to access the code one is required to perform a test, where potential users can lie about their ages (Erickson). For this reason, vulnerable populations are people with depression and other mental illnesses. A suicide cult or maniacal dictator can also use the Sarco mach...