However, when a plastic Exit Bag is used properly there is no obstruction, and the death is peaceful. The person breathes easily as the bag expands and contracts with each breath. This is in stark contrast to death from airway obstruction. This is why it is important not to confuse the peaceful, happy hypoxic death that is possible (when an Exit bag is used properly) with the grim death from suffocation that results from an obstruction to the airways.
Media reports often reinforce this confusion. In 2001 an article in The Australian newspaper by a prominent anti-euthanasia activist referred to Exit bag deaths as ‘reminiscent of theKhmer Rouge’s shopping bag executions of Cambodia’s killing fields.’
The 2017 Netflix film ‘The Most Hated Woman in America’ (about American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray O’Hair) gave a graphic depiction of her plastic bag murder. These grim plastic bag suffocation deaths were not the happy hypoxic deaths detailed in this Chapter. It is little wonder that there is so much public confusion and resistance to the method. It is also not surprising that plastic bags have a certain ‘yuk factor’ to them, with many people swearing that they would never use such a method.
Exit stresses that while one may have aesthetic concerns over the use a plastic bag for a happy hypoxic death, the physiology is clear. When used properly, the death will be quick, reliable, peaceful, legal and uniquely undetectable.
Note: The ‘yuk factor’ concern can be addressed by replacing the plastic bag with other gas containment methods. Examples include the use of modified coronavirus protection helmets. The 3D-printed Sarco is another way that Exit has been attempting to circumvent the need for a plastic bag. These devices are discussed later in this Chapter.
