Australia’s best-known euthanasia activist, Dr Philip Nitschke, is back in the news with another machine for committing suicide, the Sarco capsule.

The machine will allow anyone who has the access key to end their life by simply pressing a button. Developed in the Netherlands by Nitschke and an engineer, the machine can be 3D printed and assembled in any location. Access to the Sarco capsule will be by an on-line mental questionnaire which will provide a four-digit access code.

When the person lies in the capsule, he can activate it and liquid nitrogen will rapidly drop the oxygen level, leading to death a few minutes.

The novel feature is that the capsule can be detached from the Sarco machine and used as a sleek and shiny coffin. The machine base can be re-used.

Design criteria for the Sarco will be free, made open-source, and placed on the internet. Nitschke says that the world is now one step closer to the goal where any rational person can electively end their life in a peaceful and reliable way at the time of their choosing. “Sarco does not use any restricted drugs, or require any special expertise such as the insertion of an intravenous needle. Anyone who can pass the entry test, can enter the machine and legally end their life”.