The first fully-functional coffin device is set to be built later this year in the Netherlands, before being shipped to Switzerland where assisted suicide is legal. Dr Nitschke, also known as Dr. Death, plans to develop a 3D-printable version of the machine.
He says the idea for the invention was sparked by conversations in 2012 over the case of British man Tony Nicklinson, who suffered from locked-in syndrome – the result of a severe stroke in 2005 that had left him unable to speak or move.
The resulting device is intended to offer people the option of peacefully ending their life without assistance. According to Dr Nitschke, the opposition is huge in part for historical reasons.
