In Exit’s experience, media interest comes in cycles and can- not always be predicted. The unveiling of the wooden model and VR presentation at the Funeral Fair led to the story being picked up by the news media and spread around the world. The story went viral again in August 2020 when a satirical news story appeared online about how the State of Hawaii had ac- quired 30 Sarco pods to use under their newly-minted assisted dying laws. The story was fake but the Sarco, once more, re- ceived widespread attention.
The most significant media development occurred in Decem- ber 2021,when Swissinfo.ch published an article that stated that the Sarco had gained ‘legal approval for use in Switzerland’. In October 2020, one full year earlier, Exit commissioned a re- view from an eminent Swiss legal professor about the legality of using Sarco in Switzerland. The Professor’s report found no legal impediments to its use. In late 2020, Philip talked about the report’s findings with a journalist from Swissinfo. For rea- sons unknown, the article was mothballed until December the next year.
Sensational and misleading headlines soon followed the origi- nal Swissinfo story. These included: ‘approved for use by Swiss authorities’, ‘approved for production’, ‘to be rolled out’, ‘gets legal clearance from Swiss authorities’ and so on. During the course of this exposure many of the key players in the global assisted dying movement were asked to comment. It seemed that not everyone was in favour of Sarco. Some assisted dying groups saw Sarco and the de-medicalising model it represents as a threat. The backstory about the Sarco and media can be found on the Peacefulpill.com website blog link.
