David Goodall, a 104-year-old Australian scientist, will travel to Switzerland this week to die through assisted suicide. He says he's not happy and wants to die.
Goodall is not terminally ill, so an euthanasia bill passed in Australia and taking effect next year would not help him, Fox News reported.
While doctor-assisted suicide is illegal in many countries, in Switzerland the law allows the procedure providing it is not conducted for "selfish reasons," Fox News said.
Australia’s oldest scientist said he is ready to die and he regards the procedure as a natural process.
"I’m not happy. I want to die," he said on his birthday earlier this year, The Washington Post reported. "It’s not sad, particularly. What is sad is if one is prevented.”
Goodall is an active campaigner for assisted suicide and his decision to end his life at way seems almost fitting.
The scientist first made headlines in 2016 when the Edith Cowan University, where he served as an honorary research assistant, forced him out of his position because of his age.
The decision was later reversed but Goodall's health and quality of life has declined over the years.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp said he has had to give up playing tennis and performing in his amateur theater group, both activities he loved, his sight is failing, he can no longer drive and most of his friends have died.
“My feeling is that an old person like myself should have full citizenship rights, including the right of assisted suicide,” Goodall said, per Fox News.
Goodall's story and others like it have shined a light on the topic of suicide among the elderly which, according to data released by Mental Health America, is rife in America.
A report found that the second highest U.S. suicide rate occurred in those 85 years and older, with recent data estimating that 10,189 Americans aged 60 and up have died from suicide in 2013.
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