Right-to-die organization planning workshop on how to create a "suicide collar"
Those in the Netherlands in life threatening danger should immediately dial 112 for emergencies, and anyone suffering from depression or contemplating suicide can call 113 Zelfmoordpreventie at any time by dialing either 113 or 0800-0113, or by visiting 113.nl.
Coöperatie Laatste Wil (CLW), a right-to-die-how-you-choose organization under legal fire for distributing the suicide drug X, has presented a new method for a “self-chosen end of life” - the suicide collar. The idea is that CLW members can make these collars themselves using instructions provided by the organization in a workshop, Trouw reports.
CLW advocates for letting people decide how and when to end their lives. The organization recently faced legal trouble for distributing the suicidal drug X. The drug is legal to possess, but distributing it is considered assisted suicide, which is a criminal offense in the Netherlands. In 2023, suicide drug sellerAlex S. was convicted for this, and last year, two CLW members were found guilty of participating in a criminal organization.
Interim CLW director Frans Copini believes that the CLW won’t run that risk with the “Kairos collar,” as the organization calls the device. “Distributing information about suicide drugs isn’t considered criminally assisted suicide,” Copini said. “And in the workshop, that’s exactly what we’ll do: provide information.” Instructions on how to commit suicide are considered assisted suicide, but Copini doesn’t think that will apply here. “If I were to help put on the collar and tell someone where to squeeze or press, that would be an instruction. But we won’t do that.”
The CLW will provide the workshop only to its own members, to ensure that the collar is not abused, he added. The plan for the “Kairos collar” is still in the testing phase, but the interim CLW director expects it to be approved and ready by next year.
The collar was created by Philip Nitschke, the physician who also developed the suicide pod Sarco. Nitschke calls the collar a “peaceful and reliable” method to take your own life. Two inflatable balloons press against the carotid arteries and baroreceptors in the neck, causing the wearer to lose consciousness before dying.
Assisted suicide is naturally a sensitive topic, and ChristenUnie leader Mirjam Bikker already announced she would pose parliamentary questions about the CLW’s new plan. “Here we go again. Time and again, experiments that are life-threatening, giving depressed people a merciless idea,” the leader of the Christian party said. “These kinds of ‘workshops’ should not be allowed in the Netherlands.”
