A former RAF engineer and his wife are signing up to become the first British couple to use a double suicide pod.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Peter and Christine Scott, who have been married for 46 years, made the decision after former nurse Christine, 80, was diagnosed with early-stage vascular dementia several weeks ago.
The couple want to travel to Switzerland to die in each other’s arms in the death capsule – known as the Sarco – to mark the end of their long and happy marriage.
Following an emotional family summit during which the couple shared their fears of suffering years of infirmity within a failing NHS, and losing their home and life savings to pay crippling care costs, their son and daughter have reluctantly said they’ll respect their choice.
Peter, 86, and Christine, who have six grandchildren, are now in the process of registering with The Last Resort, a Swiss-based organisation that offers assisted dying in the Sarco, unveiled in July.
It has not yet been tried but its creator, Australian-born Philip Nitschke – nicknamed Doctor Death by right-to-life opponents – expects the first suicide to take place soon.
The Scotts say they will wait until the new twin model of the machine is launched later this year.
