Suicide bag
Encyclopedia
A suicide bag, also known as an exit bag, is a device consisting of a large plastic bag
with a drawcord used to commit suicide
. It is usually used in conjunction with an inert gas
like helium
or nitrogen
, which prevents the panic, sense of suffocation
and struggling during unconsciousness
(the hypercapnic alarm response
) usually caused by the deprivation of oxygen
in the presence of carbon dioxide
. This method also makes the direct cause of death difficult to trace if the bag and gas canister are removed before the death
is reported. Right-to-die groups recommend this form of suicide as certain, fast, and painless, according to a 2007 study.
's book Final Exit
in 1991.
The "Exit Bag" was described as a large plastic bag with an adjustable velcro
strip around the neck area. Different models of the "Exit Bag" were described in Hemlock publications, and the use of helium
was specified. Philip Nitschke
has stated that nitrogen
has a lower risk of an adverse reaction than helium
.
Dr. Richard MacDonald, the medical director of the Hemlock Society
, advised in 2003 that reduced barbiturate
availability led to promotion of suicide bags. The Human Life Review reported in 2003 that Caring Friends, a Hemlock Society program, shifted to promoting them as a result and published advertisements stating that "how-to guides such as Final Exit
and Departing Drugs also recommend the use of plastic bags for self-deliverance.” Australian doctor Philip Nitschke
, a euthanasia advocate, promotes suicide bags with films, such as "Doing it with Betty – in which an elderly woman describes how to make a plastic 'exit' bag", and publishes materials such as workshop handbooks. Nitschke also promotes other related methods such as masks and tents.
The Australian-based euthanasia group EXIT (Australia)
, also known as EXIT International, attempted to market a manufactured version of the bag in Australia in 2002. Up until that time, "exit bags" were available on the Internet from Canadian
right-to-die advocates (The Right to Die Society of Canada) to Australians. Canadians stopped shipping them when the Australian government indicated in 2001 that it planned to review their importation. The bags are known as "Aussie Bags".
In 2007, Canadian
press reports indicated that the combination of a bag and inert gas was becoming the most popular method of suicide
, but had not led to an increase in suicides. Two years later, four members of the Final Exit Network
were arrested in Atlanta, Georgia
and charged with assisted suicide in the death of a man who had had disfiguring cancer
surgery. Investigators said the organization may have been involved in as many as 200 other deaths around the country. Members of the Network are instructed to buy two new helium tanks and a hood, known as an "exit bag" (suicide bag).
, owned and run by a 91-year-old woman who sold suicide bags by mail, was raided by the FBI and her operation ceased. In July 2011, this raid caused Oregon
to be the first state to pass legislation prohibiting the sale of kits containing suicide bags or hoods.
. The woman died in September 2000, in South Carolina
with help of a suicide bag and helium.
Cases using suicide bags and gases other than noble gases
are recorded, such as a propane
-butane
mixture, and methane
(natural gas).
A 2010 study in the Journal of Medical Ethics
found that helium in a bag or hood caused death in a quick and painless manner, and could play a role in "demedicalising assisted suicide". A 2011 study found that in recent years information about suicide with helium and a bag has spread rapidly on the Internet, in print, and on video.
Plastic bag
A plastic bag, polybag, or pouch is a type of packaging made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, comic books, chemicals and waste.Most plastic bags are...
with a drawcord used to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. It is usually used in conjunction with an inert gas
Inert gas
An inert gas is a non-reactive gas used during chemical synthesis, chemical analysis, or preservation of reactive materials. Inert gases are selected for specific settings for which they are functionally inert since the cost of the gas and the cost of purifying the gas are usually a consideration...
like helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
or nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
, which prevents the panic, sense of suffocation
Suffocation
Suffocation is the process of Asphyxia.Suffocation may also refer to:* Suffocation , an American death metal band* "Suffocation", a song on Morbid Angel's debut album, Altars of Madness...
and struggling during unconsciousness
Unconsciousness
Unconsciousness is the condition of being not conscious—in a mental state that involves complete or near-complete lack of responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli. Being in a comatose state or coma is a type of unconsciousness. Fainting due to a drop in blood pressure and a...
(the hypercapnic alarm response
Hypercapnia
Hypercapnia or hypercapnea , also known as hypercarbia, is a condition where there is too much carbon dioxide in the blood...
) usually caused by the deprivation of oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
in the presence of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
. This method also makes the direct cause of death difficult to trace if the bag and gas canister are removed before the death
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
is reported. Right-to-die groups recommend this form of suicide as certain, fast, and painless, according to a 2007 study.
History
The suicide bag was first mentioned in Derek HumphryDerek Humphry
Derek Humphry is a British-born American journalist, author and principal founder in 1980 of the Hemlock Society USA and past president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, both of which support the notion of decriminalisation of voluntary euthanasia...
's book Final Exit
Final Exit
Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying is a controversial 1992 book by Derek Humphry, founder of the Hemlock Society in California and past president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies....
in 1991.
The "Exit Bag" was described as a large plastic bag with an adjustable velcro
Velcro
Velcro is the brand name of the first commercially marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral...
strip around the neck area. Different models of the "Exit Bag" were described in Hemlock publications, and the use of helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
was specified. Philip Nitschke
Philip Nitschke
Dr. Philip Nitschke is an Australian medical doctor, humanist, author and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Australia's Northern Territory and assisted four people in ending their lives before...
has stated that nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
has a lower risk of an adverse reaction than helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
.
Dr. Richard MacDonald, the medical director of the Hemlock Society
Hemlock Society
The Hemlock Society USA was a national right-to-die organization founded in Santa Monica, California by Derek Humphry in 1980. Its primary missions included providing information to dying persons and supporting legislation permitting physician-assisted suicide. In 1992, following the publication of...
, advised in 2003 that reduced barbiturate
Barbiturate
Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system depressants, and can therefore produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to total anesthesia. They are also effective as anxiolytics, as hypnotics, and as anticonvulsants...
availability led to promotion of suicide bags. The Human Life Review reported in 2003 that Caring Friends, a Hemlock Society program, shifted to promoting them as a result and published advertisements stating that "how-to guides such as Final Exit
Final Exit
Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying is a controversial 1992 book by Derek Humphry, founder of the Hemlock Society in California and past president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies....
and Departing Drugs also recommend the use of plastic bags for self-deliverance.” Australian doctor Philip Nitschke
Philip Nitschke
Dr. Philip Nitschke is an Australian medical doctor, humanist, author and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Australia's Northern Territory and assisted four people in ending their lives before...
, a euthanasia advocate, promotes suicide bags with films, such as "Doing it with Betty – in which an elderly woman describes how to make a plastic 'exit' bag", and publishes materials such as workshop handbooks. Nitschke also promotes other related methods such as masks and tents.
The Australian-based euthanasia group EXIT (Australia)
EXIT (Australia)
Exit International, is a pro-euthanasia group founded by Dr. Philip Nitschke. It was previously known as the Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation...
, also known as EXIT International, attempted to market a manufactured version of the bag in Australia in 2002. Up until that time, "exit bags" were available on the Internet from Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
right-to-die advocates (The Right to Die Society of Canada) to Australians. Canadians stopped shipping them when the Australian government indicated in 2001 that it planned to review their importation. The bags are known as "Aussie Bags".
In 2007, Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
press reports indicated that the combination of a bag and inert gas was becoming the most popular method of suicide
Suicide methods
A suicide method is any means by which one or more persons purposely kill themselves. Suicide methods can be classified according to two modes of interrupting life processes: physical or chemical. Physical modes of interruption typically act by incapacitating the respiratory system or the central...
, but had not led to an increase in suicides. Two years later, four members of the Final Exit Network
Final Exit Network
The Final Exit Network is an American all-volunteer organization that offers counseling, support, and guidance in a successful suicide to individuals who are suffering from an intolerable illness. The organization believes that individuals suffering from intolerable illnesses deserve a dignified...
were arrested in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and charged with assisted suicide in the death of a man who had had disfiguring cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
surgery. Investigators said the organization may have been involved in as many as 200 other deaths around the country. Members of the Network are instructed to buy two new helium tanks and a hood, known as an "exit bag" (suicide bag).
Legal restrictions on sale
In 2011, the Gladd Group of El Cajon, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, owned and run by a 91-year-old woman who sold suicide bags by mail, was raided by the FBI and her operation ceased. In July 2011, this raid caused Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
to be the first state to pass legislation prohibiting the sale of kits containing suicide bags or hoods.
Medical literature
Suicides using this method are well documented in the literature. In the study Asphyxial suicide with helium and a plastic bag (Ogden et al.), the authors described a case involving a 60-year-old woman with a diagnosis of adenoid cystic carcinomaAdenoid cystic carcinoma
Adenoid cystic cancer is a rare type of cancer that can exist in many different body sites. It most often occurs in the areas of the head and neck, in particular the salivary glands; but has also been reported in the breast, lacrimal gland of the eye, lung, brain, bartholin gland, trachea, and...
. The woman died in September 2000, in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
with help of a suicide bag and helium.
Cases using suicide bags and gases other than noble gases
Noble gas
The noble gases are a group of chemical elements with very similar properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with very low chemical reactivity...
are recorded, such as a propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
-butane
Butane
Butane is a gas with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of two structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, butane refers only to the unbranched n-butane isomer; the other one being called "methylpropane" or...
mixture, and methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
(natural gas).
A 2010 study in the Journal of Medical Ethics
Journal of Medical Ethics
The Journal of Medical Ethics is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of bioethics established in 1975. , its editors are Søren Holm and John Harris ....
found that helium in a bag or hood caused death in a quick and painless manner, and could play a role in "demedicalising assisted suicide". A 2011 study found that in recent years information about suicide with helium and a bag has spread rapidly on the Internet, in print, and on video.