Peter and Christine, who have been married for 46 years, are planning on travelling to Switzerland to die together
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
The first British couple to join Exit International’s suicide pod will need to answer three questions before they choose to end their lives together.
Peter, who is 86 years old, and his wife Christine, who is 80, have been happily married for 46 years. However, they are now making plans to travel to Switzerland to end their lives together after Christine, a former nurse, was diagnosed with vascular dementia.
The couple, who have six grandkids, are getting ready to join a Swiss group called The Last Resort. This organization has offered them the chance to end their lives using the Sarco death capsule.
The Sarco pod that the British couple plan on ending their lives in (ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images)
Peter, a former RAF pilot, shared with the Daily Mail, “We’ve lived long, happy, and healthy lives, but now that we’re older, it doesn’t treat us very well.”
It’s really scary to see how Chris’s mind is getting worse while I’m also dealing with my own body getting weaker.
It’s clear that I would take care of her as much as I could, but she has helped so many people with dementia in her job that she really wants to stay in charge of her own life and decisions.
Helping her to die allows her to have that chance, and I wouldn’t want to keep living if she wasn’t here with me.
Philip Nitschke created the suicide pod (JASPER JUINEN/AFP via Getty Images)
Christine, who has dedicated a lot of her career to caring for patients with dementia, said, “Life is wonderful, but now that I have this diagnosis, it has really made us think clearly about things.”
“Medicine can slow vascular dementia but it can’t stop it. At the point I thought I was losing myself, I’d say: ‘This is it, Pete, I don’t want to go any further’.”
Called the Sarco Pod, Exit International explained that this ‘sarcophagus’ is a special capsule designed to quickly lower oxygen levels while keeping carbon dioxide levels low, creating a situation for a calm and even blissful death.
Dr. Philip Nitschke, the creator, told MailOnline that when people go into the machine, they will have to answer three questions.
Three questions are asked once inside (ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images)
The questions would be: “Who are you?”, “Where are you located?”, and “Do you have any idea what will happen if you push the button?”
He explained that when they respond to those questions by speaking, the software turns on the power, allowing the button to be pressed afterward.
If they press the button, they will die really quickly. When you enter the Sarco, the oxygen level is at 21 percent, but as soon as you hit the button, it only takes 30 seconds for the oxygen to drop below one percent.
Featured Image Credit: Exit International/(ARND WIEGMANN/AFP via Getty Images