Clinic slams Oz suicide ruling
A member of a Swiss clinic set to help Australia’s oldest scientist end his life has said it is an “atrocity” that Australia had not allowed the 104-year-old to die at home.
David Goodall, who caused a stir two years ago when his university tried unsuccessfully to have him declared unfit to be on campus, does not have a terminal illness but says his quality of life has deteriorated and that he wants to die.
“But because he is not terminally ill... he has to travel to Switzerland,” said Ruedi Habegger, a co-founder of Eternal Spirit, one of a range of foundations in Switzerland that help people end their lives.
Goodall is due to end his life at Eternal Spirit’s clinic near Basel on May 10.
Assisted suicide is illegal in most countries around the world and was banned in Australia until the state of Victoria became the first to legalise the practice last year.
But that legislation, which takes effect from June 2019, only applies to terminally ill patients of sound mind and a life expectancy of less than six months.
“I don’t want to go to Switzerland,” Goodall said before he set off on his final voyage last Wednesday, adding that he had to “to get the opportunity of suicide which the Australian system does not permit”.
“I feel very resentful,” said the honorary research associate at Perth’s Edith Cowan University.
He flew first to France, to visit his son, and travels on to Switzerland this week.
Exit, with its about 140 000 members, functions fully on annual membership fees and can cover all expenses for those requesting an AVD.
But Eternal Spirit is much smaller and requires patients to pay for any necessary medical examinations and procedures prior to the act, which can be pricey in Switzerland.
Habegger said Goodall was travelling with a friend, who would be with him until the end.
In assisted dying, the person must be physically capable of carrying out the final deed themself.
Most Swiss foundations ask patients to drink sodium pentobarbital, an effective sedative that in strong enough doses causes the heart muscle to stop beating.
Since the substance is alkaline and burns a bit when swallowed, Eternal Spirit has instead opted for intravenous infusions.
A professional prepares the needle, but it is up to the patient to open the valve that allows the short-acting barbiturate to mix with a saline solution and begin flowing into their vein.
A video is shot of the patient stating their name, date of birth and that they understand what they are about to do.
The camera keeps rolling as they open the valve and the footage is used as evidence that they willingly took their own life.
“Then we shut off the camera, because the rest is intimate, private,” Habegger said.
It usually takes 20 to 30 seconds for the person to fall asleep. “Then they go deeper and deeper, until the heart muscle relaxes,” he said.
“It is not a heart attack. It is not a painful process. The heart just stops beating. Within a minute-and-a-half, it is usually over, Habegger said.
“It is short and peaceful.” –