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Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia

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David Goodall ends his life at 104 with a final powerful statement on euthanasia
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David Goodall has fulfilled his final wish and taken his life through assisted suicide in a Swiss clinic, in a powerful statement in favour of voluntary euthanasia.

The story of the 104-year-old Perth academic, who is one of the first Australians to undertake the procedure due to old age rather than a terminal illness, has attracted international headlines and further inflamed a highly divisive debate.

His supporters applauded his decision to take charge of his fate after declaring his life was no longer worth living.

But critics warned his decision to end his life solely on the grounds of old age set a dangerous precedent

Ahead of his death, Dr Goodall said he resented having to travel so far to carry out his plan, but was relieved the end was near.

"My recent life has not been enjoyable," he said.

The Perth great-grandfather departed Australia on Wednesday last week and spent time with family in Bordeaux, France, over the weekend, before travelling to the town of Basel in Switzerland, where assisted dying is legal.

He was greeted at the Swiss airport on Monday by euthanasia advocate Philip Nitschke, who helped the science professor and Order of Australia recipient fast-track his application to Swiss association Life Circle.

"I am glad to arrive [in Basel]. I'll be even more pleased when further steps of my journey are completed.

"I have been able to say goodbye. I was a bit sorry to say goodbye to my family in Bordeaux but that's the way it was."

When asked by a journalist whether he was certain he wanted to go through with his plan, Dr Goodall laughed and replied: "Oh yes, that's what I'm here for."

"I don't feel that anyone else's choice is involved. It's my own choice to end my life … and I look forward to that," Dr Goodall said.

 

okay, but what was the reason he needed to take his life???
 
grah33 said:
okay, but what was the reason he needed to take his life???
Click to expand...
From another article:

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...iss-suicide-clinic-morning.html#ixzz5FHezUmJB

He was ready to go. His quality of life had diminished to the point where he no longer wanted to continue living.
 
greggles said:
From another article:


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...iss-suicide-clinic-morning.html#ixzz5FHezUmJB

He was ready to go. His quality of life had diminished to the point where he no longer wanted to continue living.
Click to expand...

Sad story, very sad. I got a relative that's a paraplegic, stuck home all the time. He suffers but he's sticking it out. I also know of a blind youth.

His top says “aging disgracefully”. Using that logic we may as well kill disabled mental etc since they're disgraceful too. That kind of thinking is a load of rubbish. I think Marx or someone similar did the same thing because of age.

I wonder if he had what I encounter in some people, what I call a character problem? You know some people out there would kill themselves over minor things. They are very selfish when you get to know them.

Another problem here is he believes God doesn't exist so if you got a problem I guess you're free to kill yourself. I think he'd be better off being theist or agnostic than atheist and a little ray of hope might have shone upon him.

The story is fascinating though.
 

Right, so in your wisdom you have concluded he has a character problem. Why doesn't it surprise me when the pious folk do that? Such a judgemental and arrogant outlook on this man, his situation, his beliefs and his decision. Perhaps come back to this thread when you are 103?
 


I haven't come to such a conclusion. We don't know his full story, but I also don't believe that old age coupled with partial blindness was a good reason for what he did.


His motto “aging disgracefully” is negative. I'm all for positive. Everyone can believe in being positive.
 
grah33 said:
Everyone can believe in being positive
Click to expand...
And everyone should have the right to choose. I am as appalled as he was that he had to travel all the way to Switzerland to do this. Seeing an older person and in particular a family member suffer in a hospital for days on end until the end of life by natural causes in not a pretty sight. It was awful and I witnessed this twice. Like my sibling said at the time, "when it is my turn I just hope there is a switch beside my bed that I can flick to put an end to all the suffering." Australia is still in the dark ages with this.
 
Death on demand is what these people are encouraging...imv
 
Media Feeding Frenzy as Goodall Commits Assisted Suicide

Australian scientist David Goodall has committed assisted suicide at a Swiss death clinic, and the media are swooning.

It is worth noting that there were apparently no suicide-prevention attempts and that he was accompanied to Switzerland by Australian suicide guru, Philip Nitschke — who once told NRO’s Kathryn Jean Lopez that he thought “troubled teens” should have access to suicide pills “available in grocery stores.”

Goodall held a last press conference, complete with a media photography feeding frenzy of popping flashes. From the New York Times story:

Mr. Goodall spoke on Wednesday before a phalanx journalists and photographers in Basel, Switzerland. That the inquisitors had come from around the globe to hear what would be most likely the last public words of the man once called Australia’s oldest working scientist was evidence that his campaign to end his life had captivated audiences worldwide…

Keenly aware that the news conference on Wednesday was one last opportunity to help promote euthanasia and assisted dying in his own country, Mr. Goodall withstood the barrage of questions, squinting because of the flashing cameras and sometimes struggling to understand because of his hearing loss.

No, media types were enthralled, most of whom are wholly in the tank for assisted suicide. So transgressive, don’t you know!

This is all very destructive because it boosts elder-suicide specifically — and suicide generally — as a positive. As does the (constantly repeated in the media) headline phrase, “die on his [own] terms.” Heck, everyone who commits suicide dies on their own terms!

It also totally violates World Health Association media guidelines for reporting on suicide state quite clearly (my emphasis):

Sensational coverage of suicides should be assiduously avoided, particularly when a celebrity is involved. The coverage should be minimized to the extent possible… Photographs of the deceased, of the method used and of the scene of the suicide are to be avoided. Front page headlines are never the ideal location for suicide reports.

Detailed descriptions of the method used and how the method was procured should be avoided. Research has shown that media coverage of suicide has a greater impact on the method of suicide adopted than the frequency of suicides.

Oh pshaw. There’s a cause to boost!

Goodall was not terminally ill, but wanted to die because he couldn’t do most of the things he enjoyed. And that is being celebrated – -meaning, assisted suicide isn’t about terminal illness and never was.

The point of all this is to push Australia into legalizing euthanasia:

He said he hoped his life story would “increase the pressure” on Australia to change its laws. “One wants to be free to choose his death when death is at the appropriate time,” Mr. Goodall said.

That’s death-on-demand — and it is the ultimate destination of the euthanasia movement.

The proper societal response to this tragedy shouldn’t be to make it easier for the ill, elderly, disabled, and mentally ill to obtain death, but for government to state clearly that it will seek to prevent all suicides for whatever reason they are desired.
 
"Aging disgracefully" is a common joke among older people. Not negative at all.
 
It was his choice to end his life, and he had very good reason to do so. 104 years old and quality of life rapidly diminishing. He has watched most of his friends and family die around him. Total loss of independence and ability to do any kind of constructive work.

I find it disappointing that some people want to block someone like him from signing off on his own terms. So the preference is to keep propping the guy up until he's a prisoner in a hospital bed waiting for his heart to stop? Why? To satisfy your personal religious beliefs? When your time comes you will want to make your own decision too.
 
U don't have to live life fully to have a life worth living. Many people don't and still want to keep on living.

U can have 2 people with the same terrible thing. One of them refuses to accept it and hates themselves and everything else and wants to die. The other accepts it and makes the most of it, and things aren't so bad.

I'm not speaking for all kinds of suicidal people, but some (I've had to stop them...) itch to kill themselves over very minor things. Sometimes the problem is their outlook on life.
 
Always questionable to varying degrees as to whether a death by overdose was in fact suicide combined with depression...

Lisa Vanderpump’s brother dead from suspected overdose
https://pagesix.com/2018/05/14/lisa-vanderpumps-brother-dead-from-suspected-overdose/
The British tabloid reported that 59-year-old Mark Vanderpump, who worked as a DJ, died of a suspected drug overdose at his home in Gloucestershire, England, on April 30.
Mark Vanderpump faced legal troubles and the end of his 22-year marriage, according to the paper.
 

Publishing this may raise assumptions which may not necessarily be correct.

I also wonder whether people's real lives should be published on an anonymous forum.
 
SirRumpole said:
Publishing this may raise assumptions which may not necessarily be correct.

I also wonder whether people's real lives should be published on an anonymous forum.
Click to expand...

I take your point Rumpole but I certainly was not making any assumptions. And clearly no assumptions should be made.

With regard to publishing peoples real lives on an anonymous forum? I think we do value our privacy . Joe's recognition of Pixels passing was recognition of a very good person. I think that was well called for.

Hopefully that recognition is all the loss of anonymonity leads to.
 
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