This is the heartbreaking moment a 104-year-old man said goodbye to his grandson before he left to be euthanized in Switzerland. Scientist David Goodall had the emotional meeting at an airport in Perth.
He was due to travel to Singapore yesterday before completing his final journey to Basel. Mr Goodall had been afraid Australian authorities would not allow him to leave because euthanasia is illegal in the country. But despite his initial concerns he was able to make the journey to Switzerland where assisted suicide is permitted.
Mr Goodall does not have a terminal illness, but is seeking voluntary euthanasia at an end of life clinic on the grounds his quality of life has deteriorated. His daughter Karen Goodall-Smith had to fight to have her father released from the hospital after he reportedly made several unsuccessful attempts to kill himself.
Mr Goodall previously said he had the full support of his family in his wish to end his life. ‘I am 104 years old so I haven’t got much time left anyway,’ he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ‘I might as well not have it (my health) getting worse and worse, making me unhappy as it goes.’
