Scientist, 104, Ends His Life as Planned

David Goodall had traveled to Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 10, 2018 9:54 AM CDT
Scientist, 104, Ends His Life as Planned
Australian scientist David Goodall, 104, speaks Wednesday during a press conference a day before his assisted suicide in Basel, Switzerland.   (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP)

David Goodall, the 104-year-old Australian scientist who campaigned for the legalization of assisted suicide, died Thursday in Switzerland, Fox News reports. Goodall, who spoke at length on the eve of his death about why he wanted to end his own life, administered a lethal drug under the guidance of doctors at the Life Circle clinic in Basel, CNN reports. He had traveled there to die, with four family members and a close friend by his side, because euthanasia is illegal in his homeland of Australia. Goodall, a renowned botanist and ecologist, died while listening to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." (More assisted suicide stories.)

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