New Straits Times

SCIENTIST, 104, WANTS TO DIE BY EUTHANASIA

I greatly regret having reached this age, says Australian ecologist

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AUSTRALIA’S oldest scientist, who caused a stir when his university tried to vacate his office aged 102, will fly to Switzerlan­d this month to end his life, reigniting a national euthanasia debate.

David Goodall, who is now 104, does not have a terminal illness but his quality of life has deteriorat­ed and he has secured a fast-track appointmen­t with an assisted dying agency in Basel, euthanasia advocates said.

“I greatly regret having reached that age,” the ecologist told broadcaste­r ABC on his birthday last month. “I’m not happy. I want to die. It’s not sad. What is sad is if one is prevented (from dying).

“My feeling is that an old person like myself should have full citizenshi­p rights, including the right of assisted suicide,” he added.

Assisted suicide is illegal in most countries 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.

Exit Internatio­nal, which is helping Goodall make the trip, said it was unjust that one of Australia’s “oldest and most prominent citizens should be forced to travel to the other side of the world to die with dignity”.

“A peaceful, dignified death is the entitlemen­t of all who want it. And a person should not be forced to leave home to achieve it,” it said yesterday.

The group has launched a GoFundMe campaign to get plane tickets for Goodall and his helper upgraded to business class from economy and has so far raised more than A$17,000 (RM66,700).

Goodall, an honorary research associate at Perth’s Edith Cowan University, made internatio­nal headlines in 2016 when he was declared unfit to be on campus.

After an uproar and support from scientists globally, the decision was reversed.

 ??  ?? David Goodall
David Goodall

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