Monday, March 31, 2008

Got a death wish? Try suicide machine

Just one press of a button and you'll take your last breath. One of Germany's most promising conservative politicians and lawyer has unveiled Europe's first suicide machine for people with a death wish.

The killing machine named 'Perfusor' can end a person's life with a swift injection of potassium chloride.

If the machine, designed to evade strict laws banning assisted suicide, goes into production then Germany rather than Switzerland could soon become the destination of choice for those seeking to kill themselves.

"The machine is simply an option for fatally ill people," Times Online quoted Kusch, as saying. The machine is painted in green and it looks like a cross between an electric transformer and a paint spraygun. "Nobody is forced to use it but I do believe that it will contribute to a debate that is moving thousands of people," he said.

The machine would be lent or rented so that the patients could insert the needles themselves and then push the button releasing the potassium chloride.

Gerhard Strate, a defence lawyer from Hamburg, said: "As long as the sick person is fully conscious and aware, then lending the machine to him is no more illegal than lending him a kitchen knife or a razor blade. It becomes illegal only if the potential suicide asks someone in the room to press the button for him."

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