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.

Active life
The London-born academic had lived on his own in a small flat in Perth, Western Australia, until only a few weeks ago.

He stepped back from full-time employment in 1979, but remained heavily involved in his field of work.

Among his achievements in recent years, Dr Goodall edited a 30-volume book series called Ecosystems of the World and was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his scientific work.

In 2016, aged 102, he won a battle to keep working on campus at Perth's Edith Cowan University, where he was an unpaid honorary research associate.

Accompanying Dr Goodall on his journey out of Australia on Wednesday was his friend, Carol O'Neill, a representative from assisted dying advocacy group Exit International.

Image copyrightEXIT INTERNATIONAL
Image caption
Carol O'Neill is accompanying Dr Goodall on his trip to Europe
Mrs O'Neill said the dispute in 2016 over Dr Goodall's working space had affected him greatly. The row began when the university raised concerns about his safety, including his ability to commute.

Although Dr Goodall ultimately prevailed, he was forced to work in a location closer to home. It came at a time when he was also forced to give up driving and performing in theatre, Mrs O'Neill said.

"It was just the beginning of the end," she told the BBC.

"He didn't get to see the same colleagues and friends any more at the old office. He just didn't have the same spirit and he was packing up all his books. It was the beginning of not being happy any more."

Dr Goodall's decision to end his life was hastened by a serious fall in his apartment last month. He was not found for two days. Later, doctors said he needed to engage 24-hour care or be moved into a nursing home.

"He's an independent man. He doesn't want people around him all the time, a stranger acting as a carer. He doesn't want that," Mrs O'Neill said.

"He wants to have intelligent conversation and still be able to do the same things like catching the bus into town."

Divisive debate
Switzerland has allowed assisted suicide since 1942. Other countries and jurisdictions have passed laws allowing people to voluntarily end their life, but many state terminal illness as a condition of eligibility.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) remains strongly opposed to assisted dying, which it sees as an unethical practice of medicine.


source:www.bbc.com