A British couple decided to commit suicide in a death capsule (5 photos)

Peter Scott, 86, a retired RAF engineer, can't bear the thought of life without his 80-year-old partner Christine. After she was diagnosed with early-stage vascular dementia, he decided to die with her.





"The chances of getting treatment on the NHS [National Health Service] are pretty slim and you end up trapped in a state of infirmity and pain. I don't want to be in care, lying in bed on drips and wetting myself - that's no life. And then the state takes your savings and your home to pay for it all," said the pensioner from Mellis, Suffolk.



Christine and Peter first met at a jazz club

Peter added: "We've lived long, happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. But old age is not a good thing. The thought of watching Chris's mental abilities decline and my physical strength wane terrifies me. Of course, I would look after her until the end, but my wife has looked after many people with dementia and is determined that she wants to continue to have control over herself and her life. Euthanasia gives her that, and I would not want to continue living without her."

"We understand that not everyone can share our feelings, but we respect their opinion. We want to have the right to choose. It really saddens me that we can't do that here in the UK."

Instead, they will have to go to Switzerland, where assisted suicide has been legal since 1942. They have turned to The Last Resort, an organisation that offers a new method so controversial that it is banned in one region of Switzerland.





The Sarco suicide capsule was created by Australian Philip Nitschke, who is known as Dr. Death.

His company Exit International's website describes the concept as a "peaceful and even euphoric death" in which a person stops breathing after losing consciousness.

But when nitrogen was first used to execute a prisoner in the United States this year, it didn't seem peaceful. Pastor Jeff Hood described it as the most horrific thing he had ever seen: the execution lasted a total of 22 minutes.

Critics have called Sarco a "glorified gas chamber." One MIT review says it could cause a painful death if it malfunctions.



Australian euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke

In July of this year, prosecutors in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen threatened five years in prison for anyone who activated the capsule.

Nitschke had planned to deploy his design in 2022, but that hasn't happened yet.

The 3D-printed capsule is now ready to go, as is its two-seater version.

Peter and Christine, grandparents of six, are already planning their final days.

"I would like to go for a walk with Peter in the Swiss Alps, to a river. For my last meal, I would have a fish dish and a bottle of Merlot. I would make a playlist of 'Wild Cat Blue' and 'The Young Ones' by Cliff Richard, and I would find a poem called 'Miss Me But Let Me Go' that sums up exactly how I feel," Christine confessed.

The couple have asked to be cremated and their ashes scattered in the cemetery at their local church.



"Medicine can slow down the progression of vascular dementia, but it can't stop it. At that moment, when I thought I was losing myself, I said, 'That's it, Pete, I don't want to go any further,'" the woman shared.

Pete added: "I told her, 'It's your decision, I'll be there.' Death doesn't scare me."