INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: TheIndianSubcontinent News Agency
Champagne bubbles danced in fancy glasses and birthday candles burned atop a cheesecake marking 104 years of a long
and accomplished life.David Goodall listened quietly as his loved ones started to sing.Then he took a breath, made a wish and blew out the
flames.But Goodall was not wholeheartedly celebrating the milestone this month in Perth, Australia
The botanist and ecologist, who is thought to be the country's oldest scientist, said that he has lived too long
And now, he said, he is ready to die."I greatly regret having reached that age
I would much prefer to be 20 or 30 years younger," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp
When asked whether he had a nice birthday, he told the news organization: "No, I'm not happy
It's not sad, particularly
What is sad is if one is prevented.""My feeling is that an old person like myself should have full citizenship rights, including the right
of assisted suicide," the 104-year-old added.Goodall is set to travel more than 8,000 miles this week to Switzerland
That country, like most others, has not passed legislation legalizing assisted suicide, but under some circumstances its laws do not forbid
it.It's there, in northwestern Switzerland, where Goodall plans to die.For the past two decades, Goodall has been a member of Exit
International, a nonprofit organization based in Australia that advocates for the legalization of euthanasia, according to the group's
website.Exit's founder, Philip Nitschke, said on a GoFundMe page for Goodall that the group's West Australian coordinator, who is a friend
of Goodall, will accompany him Wednesday to Basel, a city in northwestern Switzerland near the French and German borders."Once one is past
the stage of middle life, one has paid back to society the debts that have been paid out," Goodall told the Australian Broadcasting Corp
"One should be free to use the rest of his life as one chooses
If one chooses to kill oneself, then that's fair enough
I don't think anyone else should interfere."In most countries, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are illegal
However, a handful of nations - including Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands - have legalized one or both of the practices, according
to the nonprofit group ProCon.org
For years, Australia has banned such practices, but in November, the state of Victoria became the first to pass a euthanasia bill, which, by
summer 2019, will allow terminally ill patients to end their lives.Swiss law prohibits assisted suicide, but only for "selfish motives."The
114Any person who for commendable motives, and in particular out of compassion for the victim, causes the death of a person at that person's
own genuine and insistent request is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or to a monetary penalty.Art
115Any person who for selfish motives incites or assists another to commit or attempt to commit suicide is, if that other person thereafter
commits or attempts to commit suicide, liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding five years or to a monetary penalty.In the United
States, only six states - California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state - and Washington, D.C., have death-with-dignity
laws for terminally ill patients.Goodall does not have a terminal illness.In fact, until recent years, he appeared to be in good health - he
played tennis until he was 90, he performed in amateur stage plays until his eyesight began to decline, and he kept up his work as an
honorary research assistant at Edith Cowan University in Perth, even after the school in 2016 deemed him unfit to continue making the trek
The Australian Broadcasting Corp
reported at the time that after nearly two decades on the campus, Goodall was told to leave amid concerns about his well-being
The incident gained international media attention, with Goodall, then 102, calling it ageism in the workplace."It's depressed me; it shows
The question would not have arisen if I were not an old man," he told the news organization at the time.University officials later reversed
their decision.But Goodall said his health is declining.He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp
that several months ago he fell down in his apartment in Perth and, for two days, he lay on the floor until his housekeeper found him."I
called out, but no one could hear me," he said.Goodall said he believes it is time for him to die, but his country's new legislation is of
no use to him because it applies only to those who are terminally ill.He said dying is part of life."Why should it make me sad" Goodall
recently told the news organization about his intended death
"I don't regard it as grim, I regard it as natural."(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is published from
