Controversial push-button suicide machine to be rented to people with a death wish

UK Daily Mail ^ | 3/28/08 | Llan Hall

[wagglebee]

A German lawyer and politician has unveiled Europe's first suicide machine for people with a death wish as "an act of Christian love".

The machine that can be rented and is then collected to be re-used by other clients kills painlessly at the push of a button.

It was unveiled by Dr Roger Kusch, 53, head of a suicide assistance society in German, who said: "Press one button, and seconds later death arrives."

Death wish: The machine gives a lethal injection at the touch of a button

The machine, which is smaller than the size of a shoebox, and is painted green, involves the user putting a needle in a vein and the machine does the rest at the touch of a button.

It is similar to one invented by Dr Philip Nitschke in Australia more than a decade ago which caused a worldwide controversy.

The poison it uses, potassium chloride, is the same as that used in executions in the United States.

"The machine is on offer to terminally ill people," says Kusch. "No one has to use it, but I think this is a topic that moves people greatly."

Kusch, who calls his machine "an act of Christian love", was a public prosecutor in Stuttgart, and was a member of the German conservatives CDU and the Hamburg regional parliament until he founded his own party in Hamburg.

His main intention is to circumvent the existing prohibition on active euthanasia in Germany.

"As long as the ill person makes his own decisions, it is not a punishable offence to rent out such a machine – just as it is no offence to give out a knife or a razor," Hamburg lawyer Gerhard Strate, 58, confirmed.

"By law it is only then an offence if the ill person asks someone else to push the button for him," he added.

Kusch said he will be present at the first suicide. There is no indication when that might be.

Kusch is a lawyer and knows he is pushing the state's tolerance limits.

Suicide is not illegal in Germany - helping someone to kill themselves is.

Technically, if a person pushes the button on his machine, and not someone else, it is - thus far - legal. But public prosecutors are already examining ways of opposing the machine.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

Like this one?
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=YhzvCyhkg8c

[Paved Paradise]

Dear Wagglebee - you beat me to the punch. I was going to say:

“Brought to you by the makers of Zyklon B”

Yep, Germans are always the efficient ones, aren’t they?

[Salvation]

Pray for an end to euthanasia and the conversion of America to a mindset of life!

[jim35]

“...can be rented and is then collected to be re-used by other clients...”

Hey, someone’s gonna get an infection! OSHA should be notified at once.

Unbelievable. Now we think so little of human life, were renting out suicide equipment.

Wasn’t there a famous quote about fearing for ourselves, if there is a just God? I wish I could remember.

[jim35]

I wonder if they use the death cocktail, giving the sedative before the KCl, like they do for murderers?

KCl is pretty caustic, especially in lethal strength. It can really burn, going in.

And that fatal heart attack? That can’t be fun.

Da**ed barbarians.

[gondramB]

>>The poison it uses, potassium chloride, is the same as that used in executions in the United States<<

Would that be the same chemical now being challenged as cruel?

>>Lethal injection execution cruel, says US researchers
April 15, 2005

American researchers have called for a halt to lethal injection, the most common method of capital punishment in the United States, because it is not always a humane and painless way to die.

Some executed prisoners may have suffered unnecessarily because they had not been sedated properly, they said.

The way inmates are given lethal injections does not even meet veterinary standards for putting down animals, they added.<<

http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Lethal-injection-execution-cruel-says-US-researchers/2005/04/14/1113251743563.html

[jim35]

Doctors are allowed to treat the pain of a cancer patient, even if the pain medication may be required to be a lethal dose to stop it.

KCl is not for pain. It just kills, by putting the heart into a fatal arrhythmia, essentially causing a fatal heart attack.

[deks]

When strong painkillers like morphine or fentanyl are needed for someone dying of cancer, a Hospice organization can arrange quickly to have them delivered, even at one’s home.

[wagglebee]

Would that be the same chemical now being challenged as cruel?

Don't bother asking the left about their hypocritical inconsistencies.

[Hildy]

yes, I am fully aware of that.

[Palladin]

Don’t tell Jack Kevorkian.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I remember it thus:

“When I reflect that God is just, I tremble for my country.” - Thomas Jefferson

[deks]

That’s good, and I hope several hundred people will see this and know that Hospice can help when someone is dying at home. When someone is begging for a shotgun it is serious indeed and bewildering for the person’s loved ones.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Hildy, seriously, the woman in pain who's dying of cancer needs fentanyl, or equivalent.

Fentanyl lozenges (Actiq) are very good --- a solid formulation of fentanyl citrate on a stick (like a lollipop) that dissolves slowly in the mouth for transmucosal absorption. Good for opioid-tolerant individuals and great for treating breakthrough cancer pain. Berry-flavored, many times more powerful than morphine, not expensive, and available in the United States in generic form.

Get the transdermal for long-lasting controlled effectivess, and the lollipop for fast-acting. Alfentanil (trade name Alfenta), an ultra-short acting (5–10 minutes), Remifentanil (trade name Ultiva), currently the shortest acting opioid, has the benefit of rapid offset, even after prolonged infusions. Carfentanil (trade name Wildnil) is an analogue of fentanyl with an analgesic potency 10,000 times that of morphine.

Should be available via any hospice program. Seriously. Do this.

[Alright_on_the_LeftCoast]

if they chicken out do they get a refund?

[Dinsdale]

Anybody who can lift a frying pan owns death!

Death is easy. Especially for someone who is already getting lots of meds.

Germans are just gadget crazy.

It beats tying your feet to a bridge abutment and your hands to a parked train and waiting...

[Hildy]

I know that...and they know it..my SIL and her friend are both nurses...I don’t know the specifics as to why she’s not in hospice yet...But my point was to those who were laughing about it...we all know this is no laughing matter. Thanks for your insight. Hospice is a blessing.

[Hildy]

I know that...and they know it..my SIL and her friend are both nurses...I don’t know the specifics as to why she’s not in hospice yet...But my point was to those who were laughing about it...we all know this is no laughing matter. Thanks for your insight. Hospice is a blessing.

[JBCiejka]

How would one know if someone hooks someone else on and does them in for insurance policies, or just plain murder?

I would be a little nervous if my husband brought one home.

[jim35]

Thank you, Mrs. Don-o, that’s the one!