By Sarah Holliday

It turns out, quite tragically, that 2023 saw the highest number of suicide deaths ever recorded within the U.S. since the 1940s. Over 50,000 Americans took their own lives last year alone. Just one year prior, at least 1.6 million Americans attempted suicide, 3.8 million planned to, and 13.2 million “seriously” considered it. And this does not take into account all the people who chose not to report their woes.

We talk about suicide as a terribly sad and irreversible decision, and that’s because it is. It’s hard to stomach the number of people in America — in the world — who feel so beyond help that the only option they believe they have is to end it all. Surely, many of these individuals make the decision through streams of tears and gasping breaths, in a mental state that has them screaming at themselves: I just can’t do it anymore!

Now, considering how painful it is to reckon with that harsh reality, it remains undoubtedly sickening that there are people who choose the “suicide business,” making a profit off encouraging vulnerable people to end their lives. Exit International (EI), founded by Philip Nitschke, is a leading organization in this field of assisted suicide. And in partnership with The Last Resort (LR), the “portable suicide pod” is the latest means of killing to enter their market.

In June, the suicide pod, otherwise known as Sarco, was gearing up to have its first victim. Presented as a “beautiful” way of dying, Sarco only required 10 minutes, $20 dollars, and a push of a button from the inside to then replace the oxygen within the pod with nitrogen, leading to death by hypoxia. Nitschke and the two organizations claimed they “saw no legal obstacle to its use” — particularly in Switzerland, “where the law generally allows assisted suicide if the person commits the lethal act themselves.”

However, they were wrong.

After just one use, in which “a 64-year-old U.S. woman … became the first person to use a ‘suicide pod’ to end her life,” multiple arrests were made. Apparently, despite the Sarco squad thinking there were “no legal obstacles” hindering them, Swiss officials exposed the fact that the pod has yet to be “approved for use.” Additionally, Health Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider had noted that “the capsule would not be legal.”

She explained how Sarco “does not fulfill the demands of the product safety law, and as such, must not be brought into circulation.” Neither, she added, is “the corresponding use of nitrogen … compatible with the article on purpose in the chemicals law.” And notably, the folks from EI and LR were given even more warning than this.

According to the New York Post, “the Swiss newspaper, Blick, obtained a letter [in July] from Public Prosecutor Peter Sticher warning that operators of the Sarco pod could face ‘serious consequences.’” Sticher put it this way: “There is no reliable information about the method of killing. [It is] completely unclear who has control over [the] mechanical process during the dying process.” And yet, it would seem none of those warnings were enough to put a hold on Sarco’s debut. The unnamed woman died in the 3D-printed chamber Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday, “Cops in northern Switzerland announced … that ‘several people’ were taken into custody in connection to the death.”

Currently, there is little additional information regarding the arrests and the opened “investigation on suspicion of incitement and accessory to suicide.” But even with the information at hand, there are three prominent themes: death, arrests, and a needed reminder of what makes life worth living.

First, a woman died. The 64-year-old woman was described to have suffered from “severe immune compromise” — according to the group that put her in the pod. LR Co-President Florian Willet said her death was “peaceful, fast, and dignified.” Nitschke also expressed in a statement through EI that he was “pleased that the Sarco had performed exactly as it had been designed.” And considering Willet and Nitschke got the conclusions they wanted, are we supposed to feel bad for the photographer who “wanted to take pictures of the use of the Sarco” but was arrested in doing so?

Taking life should not be done so flippantly. A woman who was once a little girl, who likely had hopes and dreams, died in this metal capsule. “If you want to die, press this button,” are the last words she ever heard. No, I don’t know the details of her condition. Nor do I know her family history or how many friends she had. However, what I do know is that she was a human being created in the image of God, and no one but God has the right over the timing of her death. Her loss should be mourned, because she is now gone, and a group of terribly misguided doctors are grinning over their personal success.

Second, people were arrested. To answer my own question: No, I do not feel bad for them. People were arrested for moving forward with something they knew was not approved, deemed illegal, and not compatible with safety laws. They moved forward because they were obsessed with some kind of a dystopian vision in which, according to their own website, they could “(Re)Design Death.”

Borrowing from their own language, this group moved forward despite the inevitable ramifications, because they wanted to pave the way to make death more “exciting.” From their perspective, death should “suggest a sense of occasion,” such as traveling “to a ‘new destination.’” It’s one thing, though still not justified, to gear the suicide market towards elderly, physically impaired people. But a closer look at Nitschke and his companions prove that they will market their “product” to anyone, including younger, physical healthy individuals.

People were arrested, perhaps only for strictly legal reasons, but I hope their stint in custody may be a time in which the church prays for the Lord to open their hearts and minds. May they understand that each life is precious and made in the image of God, and it’s not our place to make a profit or a business out of encouraging untimely deaths — whether you’re unborn or nearing 100.

This situation should also serve as a reminder of what makes life worth living. Money, dream homes and cars, promotions at work, traveling to new countries, or any other material and fading aspect of this temporary life is not what gives us the strength to live. We’re painfully aware of this every time money runs out, the housing market is too expensive, we lose our job, or deal with any daily affliction. But because our hope and joy are not found in these things, it’s instances in which suicide pods and illegal activity are flooding the headlines that we see the need to remember where they are found.

Jesus Christ is our only hope in life and death. He is the One who conquered the world and promised eternity for those who believe. He is the immovable Lord of all, who offers rest, peace, hope, joy, love, and true life to all who come to Him. Romans 11:36 proclaims, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever!” Do you see? This life is about Him. And you know what’s beautiful? To Him be the glory, and because our God is a perfect and loving Father, His glory also happens to be for our good.

If you are in Christ, I beg you not to contemplate suicide. I beg you to encourage those around you to choose life — including unbelievers, who need this truth just as much as we do. Because, ultimately, Christ is on the throne, He has won the battle, and our lives are rooted in Him and His promises. We never have reason to give up hope because Christ is our eternal hope, and He has called us for a purpose. We never have reason to say we can’t take any more of this life because Christ has promised to carry us through the fire. We don’t have to contemplate death, because Christ has already given us abundant life now and forevermore.

Consider this prayer from an anonymous writer:

“O Lord, I bless Thee that the issue of the battle between Thyself and Satan has never been uncertain, and will end in victory.” But “heal me of any wounds received in the Great Conflict; if I have gathered defilement, if my faith has suffered damage, if my hope is less than bright, if my love is not fervent, if some creature-comfort occupies my heart, if my soul sinks under pressure of the fight. O Thou whose every promise is balm, every touch life, draw near to Thy weary warrior, refresh me, that I may rise again to wage the strife, and never tire until my enemy is trodden down.”

“Give me such fellowship with Thee that I may defy Satan, unbelief, the flesh, the world, with the light that comes not from a creature, and which a creature cannot mar. Give me a draught of the eternal fountain that lieth in Thy immutable, everlasting love and decree. Then shall my hand never weaken, my feet never stumble, my sword never rests, my shield never rust, my helmet never shatter, my breastplate never fall, as my strength rests in the power of Thy might.”

If you are tempted to give up or are tired of the weight of the world, I would encourage you to pray that prayer for yourself. Pray it every day if you must. Let it be your constant reminder of what — or Who, I should say — makes life worth living.

Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand.