The Ethical Implications of the Euthanasia Coaster

Thursday - December 28 2023, 00:24 UTC - 11 months ago

Euthanasia is the act of intentionally ending a living being's life to relieve their suffering in a controverical and highly debated manner. The Euthanasia Coaster is a roller coaster designed specifically with euthanasia in mind, transmitting high G-forces to cause cerebral hypoxia, loss of consciousness, and eventually death. Active voluntary euthanasia has been legalised in 8 countries since 2000s, and is also legal in most states of Australia and 11 US states. Alternative methods such as the 3D-printed suicide capsule, the Sarco, and the conceptual structure of the Euthanasia Coaster are also proposed.

Euthanasia is the act of intentionally ending a living being's life to relieve their suffering. While commonly performed by vets on severely sick or injured animals, euthanasia has historically entailed complex ethical, moral, and legal considerations when applied to people, and it remains a highly controversial and debated topic around the world. Active voluntary euthanasia has become legal in at least eight countries since the 2000s. These include the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, Colombia, Spain, New Zealand, and more recently, Portugal. Euthanasia is also legal in most states of Australia. Other jurisdictions permit passive euthanasia, which refers to the withdrawal of life-sustaining or life-prolonging treatment with the patient's (or their family's) consent, allowing the person to die naturally. In the U.S., "medical aid in dying" is legal in several states, including California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, New Mexico, Maine, New Jersey, Hawaii, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

Euthanasia is typically carried out via oral, intravenous, or intramuscular administration of certain drugs in lethal doses. However, some have proposed alternative methods. For example, in 2017, author and former physician Philip Nitschke created the 3D-printed suicide capsule, the Sarco, which, upon activation, fills itself with liquid nitrogen to cause hypoxia and death by inert gas asphyxiation. Long before that, in 2010, the conceptual design of another euthanasia device, the Euthanasia Coaster, stirred controversy. Here's why.

1. This roller coaster is meant to kill its passengers via hypoxia .

The Euthanasia Coaster is a roller coaster engineered specifically to kill its passengers in a peaceful, humane way — as long as they find roller coasters peaceful. Its design puts riders through a series of increasingly intense loops, leading to a lack of oxygen in the brain. This is actually one of the reasons why some people pass out on traditional roller coasters. Roller coasters expose riders to different gravitational forces, often referred to as G-forces. Normally, we're only exposed to the acceleration of Earth's gravity. But when riding a roller coaster, we encounter varying G-forces that act in different directions as the coaster accelerates, decelerates, climbs, and descends. These abrupt changes in acceleration can redistribute blood away from the brain. A reduction in blood flow to the brain can lead to a condition known as hypoxia, where the brain is deprived of oxygen. As a result of hypoxia, people on roller coasters can experience tunnel vision, dizziness, and blackouts. Riders do not normally die from hypoxia on roller coasters because they are built with safety in mind. Ride designs are tested to ensure they don't put people through high G-forces for over a few seconds. The Euthanasia Coaster's ride design does exactly the opposite, extending the time the riders are subject to high G-forces to intentionally produce cerebral hypoxia, loss of consciousness, and, eventually, death.

2. The creator used to work at an amusement park .

The Euthanasia Coast was designed in part by Julijonas Urbonas, a Lithuanian artist, engineer, and former amusement park designer. He began sketching out the idea after seeing a euthanasia patient relieved of suffering. Urbonas saw similarities between the feelings of elation and joy experienced on roller coasters and the potential to use the same mechanics to do the opposite — end someone's life painlessly.