Gilson Thomas, Parks Bruce O, Porterfield Cynthia M
Office of the Medical Examiner, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2003 Sep;24(3):306-8. doi: 10.1097/01.paf.0000083363.24591.5d.
Suicide by asphyxiation with a plastic bag placed over the head is a method that has been advocated by right-to-die groups. Recently, such groups have proposed the introduction of helium into the plastic bag as a means of hastening death. Helium is readily available at toy stores, where it is sold in tanks for balloon inflation. It produces asphyxiation by the exclusion of oxygen in enclosed spaces. We report 7 fatalities throughout an 18-month period involving plastic bag suffocation in conjunction with helium use. These fatalities coincide with publication of an update to a popular right-to-die text in which this method is described. Although right-to-die literature was absent from all scenes, this method was not previously observed in our jurisdiction, and the deaths likely reflect exposure to this information. Because of analytical difficulties in testing for helium in biologic specimens, death certification rests on scene investigation.
用塑料袋套头窒息自杀是一种由安乐死团体所倡导的方法。最近，这类团体提议在塑料袋中充入氦气以加速死亡。氦气在玩具店很容易买到，在那里它被装在罐子里用于给气球充气。它通过在封闭空间中排除氧气来导致窒息。我们报告了在18个月期间发生的7起死亡事件，这些事件涉及使用氦气的塑料袋窒息情况。这些死亡事件与一本流行的安乐死文本更新版本的发布时间相吻合，该版本中描述了这种方法。尽管在所有现场均未发现安乐死相关文献，但这种方法在我们的管辖区域以前并未观察到，这些死亡可能反映了对该信息的接触。由于在生物样本中检测氦气存在分析困难，死亡证明基于现场调查。
