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Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
Peter and Christine Scott, the first British couple to sign up for Exit International's suicide pod, will be required to answer three questions before they end their lives 'in each other's arms'.
Peter, 86, and Christine, 80, have been married for 46 years and share six grandchildren together.
They plan to end their lives together in Switzerland's Sarco 'suicide pod'.
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Peter, a former RAF engineer, and Christine, a retired nurse, are currently undergoing the process of signing up with The Last Resort, a Switzerland-based organisation, who have provided them with the option to die in the 'death capsule'.
The two decided to seek a joint end-of-life journey upon learning of Christine's early-stage vascular dementia diagnosis.
The creator of the Sarco pod, Dr. Philip Nitschke, told the Daily Mail that there are three questions that will be answered before the duo end their lives.
He said the questions would be: 'Who are you?', 'Where are you?' and 'Do you know what happens if you press the button?'
He continued: "If they answer those questions verbally, the software then switches the power on so that the button can then be pressed.
"And if they press the button they will die very quickly. When you climb into Sarco the oxygen level is 21 percent but after you press the button it takes 30 seconds for the oxygen to drop to less than one percent."
Christine spent much of her career tending to dementia patients.
She told the Daily Mail: "It's a lovely life but I have this diagnosis, and that's crystallised our thinking.
"Medicine can slow vascular dementia but it can't stop it. At the point I thought I was losing myself, I'd say: 'This is it, Pete, I don't want to go any further.'"
She explained how she would like to spend her final days in Switzerland.
She said: "I’d like to go walking with Peter in the Swiss Alps, by a river. I’d have a beautiful plate of fish for my last supper, and enjoy a great bottle of Merlot.
"I’d make a playlist including 'Wild Cat Blues' and 'The Young Ones' by Cliff Richard and I’ve found a poem called Miss Me But Let Me Go, which sums up exactly how I feel."
Peter opened up about his decision to join Christine, saying: "We have had long, happy, healthy, fulfilled lives but here we are in old age and it does not do nice things to you.
"The idea of watching the slow degradation of Chris' mental abilities in parallel to my own physical decline is horrific to me."
He continued: "Obviously I would care for her to the point I could not, but she has nursed enough people with dementia during her career to be adamant she wants to remain in control of herself and her life.
"Assisted dying gives her that opportunity and I would not want to go on living without her.
"We understand other people may not share our feelings and we respect their position. What we want is the right to choose. I find it deeply depressing we can't do that here in the UK.
"Yet look at the alternative. The chances of getting prompt NHS treatment for the ailments of old age seem pretty remote so you end up trapped by infirmity and pain."
Peter concluded: "I don't want to go into care, to be lying in bed dribbling and incontinent - I don't call that a life.
"Finally, the Government swoops in to take your savings and your house to pay for it all."
The Sarco pods were designed for the use of assisted suicide and passed an independent legal review in Switzerland in 2021.
The capsules, made by Exit International, are made with 3D-printing technology and take approximately 10 minutes to end a person's life.
The death is caused by the Sarco pods filling with nitrogen - which must be activated by the human inside the pod.
The pod being full of nitrogen causes a rapid reduction in oxygen levels, leaving the person inside to lose consciousness before passing away.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
