A British couple are set to become the first people from the UK to die by euthanasia together inside of a controversial double "suicide pod".

Following 46 years of marriage and sharing a family that consists of six grandchildren, 86-year-old Peter Scott and his 80-year-old wife Christine have signed up to die alongside one another inside of the Sarco death capsule.

Their deaths are set to take place in Switzerland, with the decision being made after former nurse Christine was diagnosed with early-stage vascular dementia, per the Daily Mail.

Speaking to the newspaper about their decision, Peter - a former pilot for the RAF - said: "We have had long, happy, healthy, fulfilled lives but here we are in old age and it does not do nice things to you."

Expanding on watching the love of his life decline due to her illness, Peter added: "The idea of watching the slow degradation of Chris' mental abilities in parallel to my own physical decline is horrific to me."

Peter also explained how Christine's career in healthcare has helped sway their decision.

"Obviously I would care for her to the point I could not, but [Christine] has nursed enough people with dementia during her career to be adamant she wants to remain in control of herself and her life," the doting husband added. "Assisted dying gives her that opportunity and I would not want to go on living without her."

Peter and Christine are now in the process of completing the final agreements with Swiss organisation The Last Resort.

The pod in which the couple are due to pass away together is known as the Sarco - short for the term "sarcophagus", which is often associated with the ancient Egyptians.

The 3D-printed pod will use a can of liquid nitrogen in order to provide a death by suicide via inert gas asphyxiation. The process is quick - reportedly taking just 10 minutes - and is supposed to prevent the patients from experiencing any panic or suffocation as their oxygen levels swiftly decrease.

The Last Resort's Dr. Nitschke told The Mail: "The capsule for two people works exactly the same as the single Sarco but there is only one button so they will decide between them who will push it. Then they'll be able to hold each other and one of them will push the button."

In order for the machine to function, the couple will be asked three questions, which Dr. Nitschke says every person must answer correctly.

They are: "Who are you?", "Where are you?", and "Do you know what happens if you press the button?"

Dr. Nitschke added: "If they answer those questions verbally, the software then switches the power on so that the button can then be pressed."

Dr. Nitschke also shared that he wants to bring his Sarco pod to the UK in the future. However, per the NHS website, euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal under English law.

"We understand other people may not share our feelings and we respect their position," Peter said. "What we want is the right to choose. I find it deeply depressing we can't do that here in the UK.

"Yet look at the alternative. The chances of getting prompt NHS treatment for the ailments of old age seem pretty remote so you end up trapped by infirmity and pain.

"I don't want to go into care, to be lying in bed dribbling and incontinent – I don't call that a life."

And sharing her thoughts on the decision, Christine added that although she has a "lovely life", her diagnosis has "crystallized" the couple's thought process.

"Medicine can slow vascular dementia but it can't stop it," she said. "At the point I thought I was losing myself, I'd say: 'This is it, Pete, I don't want to go any further'."

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Before an American woman became the first person to die via a suicide pod, the creator shared a 10-word warning.

The Sarco pods, designed by Dr. Philip Nitschke - commonly referred to as "Dr. Death" - offer a new method of assisted suicide, providing users a way to end their lives autonomously.

The device, which induces death by oxygen deprivation through nitrogen gas, is intended to provide a painless, self-administered death.

According to a report by BBC News, the pod allows users to initiate the process without the need for medical professionals or drugs.

As reported by News.com.au, a 64-year-old American woman has become the first person to die using the controversial Sarco suicide pod.

The woman reportedly died "almost immediately" on Monday in the device, located near a forest hut in Merishausen, northern Switzerland, under a canopy of trees.

Dr. Nitschke, speaking to Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, commented on her determination to end her life: "When she entered the Sarco, she almost immediately pressed the button. She didn’t say anything. She really wanted to die."

Nitschke estimated that the woman lost consciousness within two minutes and was dead within five.

“We saw jerky, small twitches of the muscles in her arms, but she was probably already unconscious by then. It looked exactly how we expected it to look," he added.

The former physician, who has long campaigned for legalized euthanasia, criticized society's approach to death.

“It seems we demand humans to live with indignity, pain, and anguish whereas we are kinder to our pets when their suffering becomes too much," Nitschke said in 2009.

He has often challenged long-standing religious and ethical objections to assisted suicide, calling them "illogical" and "immature."

The American woman, whose name has not been released, left a four-minute audio message for The Last Resort before her death.

According to De Volkskrant, she stated that she had been "immune compromised" and in "severe pain" for at least two years.

She also shared that her two sons, who were not present at the time of her death, supported her decision "100 percent."

Despite the legal hurdles, Dr. Nitschke and his team argue that the Sarco pod provides an alternative to assisted dying that does not require medical supervision or pharmaceuticals.

The pod can be 3D-printed and assembled at home, making it portable and accessible for those seeking an assisted death in different settings.

Dr. Nitschke issued a grim warning earlier this year when unveiling the device: “Once the button is pressed, there is no way back,” per the New York Post.

A German scientist, Florian Willet, who helped create the Sarco pod, echoed Nitschke’s sentiments and said he would “probably use the Sarco myself instead of living through my last days in a miserable state while seriously ill.”

Following the American woman's death, authorities recovered both the device and the body at a forest hut in Merishausen, near the German border.

Swiss police stated that several people were detained on suspicion of incitement and aiding and abetting suicide.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.

Featured image credit: David Mariuz/Getty Images

The inventor of the controversial Sarco 'suicide pod' has revealed that the machine asks users three important questions before they choose to die.

The Sarco pod, designed by Dr. Philip Nitschke, a former physician also known as "Dr. Death", aims to provide a self-administered, painless method for assisted suicide.

The pod works by replacing oxygen with nitrogen gas, causing death by hypoxia, according to reports from the BBC.

Dr. Nitschke explained that the device allows individuals to end their lives peacefully and autonomously without the use of drugs.

The Sarco pod asks users three questions before they can choose to die. Credit: thelastresort.ch

The capsule is an alternative to other legal methods of assisted dying, which usually involve the administering of drugs such as liquid sodium pentobarbital to cause the person's death.

Nitschke told Ladbible in 2021: "I’ve always wanted to remove the role [and the] need for professional people to prescribe difficult drugs to use.

"The idea of using a gas, in this case an inert gas came up, because if you can find a suitably elegant and attractive container, climb in, and then flood that container with an inert gas like nitrogen so that the level of oxygen rapidly drops, you rapidly go into a state of cerebral hypoxia, which is pretty quick, and you’ll faint very quickly and die within a few minutes. That’s the idea behind it."

Nitschke revealed to the MailOnline that the pods, which cost between $4,000 and $8,000, ask users three questions when they enter the machine: "Who are you?", "Where are you?", and "Do you know what happens if you press the button?"

He explained: "If they answer those questions verbally, the software then switches the power on so that the button can then be pressed.

"And if they press the button they will die very quickly. When you climb into Sarco the oxygen level is 21 percent but after you press the button it takes 30 seconds for the oxygen to drop to less than one percent."

The Sarco pod was created by Dr. Philip Nitschke. Credit: David Mariuz/Getty Images

The Last Resort, the company behind the pods, has strict criteria on its website for those considering using the services.

Their website has the following examples of reasons for using the pods: "Advanced old age, poly-pathologies of old age, Illness – serious, chronic or terminal, to anyone who is face to face with the dying process, be that slow or fast, and early dementia – as long as mental capacity is retained."

However, it states: "The Last Resort does not assist young people to die, unless they have a serious physical illness (ie. not psychiatric)."

The website also specifies that use of the pods is free to "approved users" at the Last Resort.

In 2024, an unnamed 64-year-old American woman became the first to use one to end her life.

She reportedly passed away "almost immediately" after pressing the button, in a remote forest near Merishausen, northern Switzerland.

Though the Last Resort says use of the pod is free, an article by the Daily Mail suggested the American woman paid for her usage, but the cost was low.

She reportedly paid around 18 Swiss francs ($20) for the nitrogen used in the machine, which stands in sharp contrast to traditional Swiss assisted suicide clinics, which can charge as much as $13,360.

While assisted suicide has been legal in Switzerland since 1942, provided the person makes the decision freely, without external pressure or selfish motives, euthanasia - where another person directly causes death - remains illegal in the country.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.

Featured image credit: thelastresort.ch