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David Goodall: Scientist, 104, begins trip to end his life
On Wednesday, 104-year-old scientist David Goodall bid farewell to his home in Australia to fly across the world to end his life. The lauded ecologist and botanist is not suffering from a serious illness but wishes to bring forward his death. Key to his decision, he says, has been his diminishing independence.
"I greatly regret having reached that age," Dr Goodall said on his birthday last month, in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "I'm not happy. I want to die. It's not sad particularly. What is sad is if one is prevented."
Assisted dying was legalised by one Australian state last year following a divisive debate, but eligibility requires a person be terminally ill. It is illegal in other states. Dr Goodall says he will travel to a clinic in Switzerland to voluntarily end his life. However, he says he resents having to leave Australia to do so.
Also at USA Today, CNN, and The Local.
(Score: 2) by KiloByte on Saturday May 05 2018, @12:38AM (2 children)
I don't think leaving a pretty corpse is my primary concern. Old men don't look good, and especially corpses are not appealing. Stick that into a cremation box and be done.
There's no such thing as overkill. If I could sit on a nuke, there's no way the neural signal reaches my brain before I'm a cloud of plasma.
As for trusting doctors, I see you haven't visited one in a while, have you? I'm suffering from quite debilitating headaches right now, and hearing their mutually contradicting theories even I could find obvious holes in would be funny if it wasn't about the body part I'm supposed to think with.
Ceterum censeo systemd esse delendam.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 05 2018, @12:59AM (1 child)
Anyone comment on using a jug of nitrogen... Readily rented from many industrial refrigeration and welding shops. I have heard its a painless and clean way to end the program.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 05 2018, @01:32AM
I'd comment about it, but I died in the process and forgot my final memories after becoming a ghost.