# Suicide pods now legal in Switzerland **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 8, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740 "2021-12-08T23:22:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/102 "2021-12-10T16:32:59Z")
I’m cheap (it’s a Swiss trait, so the pod is not surprising). I’d consider this over being near-comatose in a nursing home for years, draining my family’s money. So I’m interested in any method that’s cheaper than the current plan (being shot by a huge trebuchet into an active volcano). ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/103 "2021-12-10T16:37:21Z")
> [@digs](#): > > So I’m interested in any method that’s cheaper than the current plan (being shot by a huge trebuchet into an active volcano). My go-to is hydroplaning off Niagara Falls, but to each his own. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/104 "2021-12-10T18:00:48Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Taking your own life with no regard for the harm it may do to the people who love you and rely on you is the moral equivalent of the “fuck you, I got mine” mentality of the fascist right. I’d say forcing somebody you love to endure suffering because you don’t feel like letting them end that suffering is a worse expression of putting your own interests above other people’s. However, I’d don’t see any political ideology in this. It’s something you could find in a fascist or a communist or somebody holding more moderate political views. Most people separate the way they relate to their family from the way they relate to society. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/105 "2021-12-10T18:02:04Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > My go-to is hydroplaning off Niagara Falls, but to each his own. Something for the tourists to enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/106 "2021-12-10T20:05:13Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > This reminds me of a banned poster (I won’t name them) who was constantly saying society was only valid if it provided suicide booths. Specifically, _mechanical_ suicide booths. For some reason, they had to be mechanical. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/107 "2021-12-10T20:38:01Z")
What right do I have to tell someone else, who has lived in their own head their entire life and has formed a unique understanding of their world, when they have or haven’t had enough? It’s mind-bending how people who would normally make no argument against bodily autonomy suddenly want to control the dickens out of someone else when it comes to suicide. We can debate the morality of suicide sometime, maybe even have people chime in about why they’ve pondered it (it’s not just about mental or physical agony, and not all who want it are impulsive, selfish nutters). But as the OP is about a clean, efficient, painless method I’ll just say, “absolutely”. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/108 "2021-12-10T21:00:17Z")
> [@digs](#): > > So I’m interested in any method that’s cheaper than the current plan (being shot by a huge trebuchet into an active volcano). A small cylinder of nitrogen in a closed car with the windows rolled up should do the job very cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/109 "2021-12-10T21:30:39Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I cannot break your heart, only you can. “…nothing that God or Satan could inflict would have parted us, you, of your own will, did it. I have not broken your heart - you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.” ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/110 "2021-12-10T21:47:49Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > What a crass thing for a complete stranger to send to someone Yes. That was intended as a poke in the eye to **Roderick** for saying > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I would argue that that guilt and loss is coming from themselves and is not the responsibility of the person committing suicide. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/111 "2021-12-10T21:49:13Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I don’t understand the joke. Can you explain it? No joke. **Roderick** ’s blaming those left behind for their grief was disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/112 "2021-12-10T21:49:53Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > No joke. **Roderick** ’s blaming those left behind for their grief was disgusting. That is not what he did. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/113 "2021-12-10T21:53:23Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > My message would be like any other sane, caring adult, to help her deal with her shock, her grief, and her loss. I would hope so, but your statement blaming the left behind pushed all the wrong buttons. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/114 "2021-12-10T21:56:14Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > That is not what he did. It was a copy and paste quote. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/115 "2021-12-10T21:59:17Z")
Responsibility and blame are not the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/116 "2021-12-10T22:15:46Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > No joke. **Roderick** ’s blaming those left behind for their grief was disgusting. That didn’t happen. Roderick stated that the person who committed suicide isn’t to blame. People like you threw a tantrum because if the blame doesn’t go on the victim, then where does the blame go? Because we just _have to blame_ somebody, because reasons. Or we could be adults and realize that we don’t _have_ to blame anybody. Suicide is an awful thing that happens, like cancer or diabetes. A person’s brain broke and killed them, just as if their pancreas failed. Sadness is understandable. Even anger is understandable, to a degree. But to go around blaming or carrying a grudge forever is irrational, foolish, and self-destructive. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/117 "2021-12-10T22:17:59Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > But to go around blaming or carrying a grudge forever is irrational, foolish, and self-destructive. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/118 "2021-12-10T22:23:48Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > > > My message would be like any other sane, caring adult, to help her deal with her shock, her grief, and her loss. > > I would hope so, but your statement blaming the left behind pushed all the wrong buttons. @HMS_Irruncible has already said it very well, responsibility is not the same as blame. It is not appropriate or realistic to apply blame or guilt to emotions, and it is very unhealthy to try. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/119 "2021-12-11T20:01:35Z")
We’ll have to agree to disagree then. To me you’re splitting hairs and subsequent statements like > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Why should it? Why should your feelings constitute a claim on what I do with my life? are callous in the extreme. Like it or not your life touches other lives – it’s what makes us human. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/120 "2021-12-13T14:20:50Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I used to be an orderly in a nursing home in my younger days, and I watched as human beings slipped into dementia and/or died of cancer or some other painful disease. How much pain should they be forced to suffer through, how much indignity should they be forced to go through just to make you, a total stranger to them, feel better emotionally. Can you offer them something better than the pipe dream of " several _decades_ of a life well lived"? **[My mom died a medically-assisted death a few years ago.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-medical-aid-in-dying/810627/12)** She was terminally ill, and her quality of life had diminished to pretty much nothing. I’m glad she had that option available, and it saddens me to know that there are people out there who would deny that option to others like her. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740/121 "2021-12-16T18:33:34Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Like it or not your life touches other lives – it’s what makes us human. This is not a black and white thing. Your point is valid, but I think the only responsibility it might create is letting people know what your plan is. “Dad got in the pod last week…” is no way for the kids to find out. But, “Hey kids, I’m fukkin done and I’ll be climbing into the pod this coming Friday.” seems pretty acceptable to me. No nasty surprises, nobody is denied closure or left wondering if they might be somehow responsible for the decision, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-pods-now-legal-in-switzerland/955740.md?page=7)