104-year-old Australian breaks into joyful song as he awaits death

Australian scientist David Goodall, 104, does not have a terminal illness but says his quality of life has deteriorated and that he wants to die

A 104-year-old Australian scientist burst into song Wednesday as he told a roomful of journalists that he was looking forward to finally being allowed to end his life.

10 may 2018--David Goodall does not have a terminal illness but says his quality of life has deteriorated significantly in recent years and that he wants to die.
"I no longer want to continue life," Goodall told the dozens of journalists and television crews who had crammed into a small room at a hotel in the northern Swiss city of Basel to hear him speak.
"I am happy to have the chance tomorrow to end it, and I appreciate the help of the medical profession here in making that possible," he said.
When asked whether he had chosen any music to listen to in his finally moments, he said he hadn't thought about it.

Ode to Joy

"But if I had to choose something, I think it would be the final movement of Beethoven's ninth symphony," he said, before belting out a verse from the Ode to Joy, in German, to loud applause.
Goodall was barred from seeking help to end his life in Australia, so he was forced to travel to Switzerland, something he has said he resents.
"I would have preferred to have (ended) it in Australia, and I greatly regret that Australia is behind Switzerland" when it comes to right-to-die laws, he said.
The 104-year-old said he hoped the widespread interest in his case would spur Australia and other countries to rethink their legislation.

An instrument for change?

"I would quite like to be remembered as an instrument of freeing the elderly from the need to pursue their life irrespective," he said.
The honorary research associate at Perth's Edith Cowan University set off from Australia a week ago, and stopped in Bordeaux, France to see family before arriving in Basel on Monday.
He was speaking alongside Philip Nitschke, the founder of Exit International which helped him make his final journey, and Moritz Gall of Eternal Spirit, the Swiss foundation that has agreed to help him die.
Goodall secured a fast-track appointment with the foundation after he attempted but failed to commit suicide on his own earlier this year.
"It would have been much more convenient for everyone if I had been able to, but unfortunately it failed," he said of the suicide attempt.
But he said he was happy that he had been offered the "Swiss option", since he has been able to see most of his large family, which is spread over several countries, in the run up to his final day.
Assisted suicide is illegal in most countries and was banned in Australia until the state of Victoria became the first to legalise the practice last year.
But that legislation, which takes effect in June 2019, only applies to terminally ill patients of sound mind and a life expectancy of less than six months.
According to Swiss law meanwhile, anyone who is of sound mind and who has over a period of time voiced a consistent wish to end their life can request so-called assisted voluntary death, or AVD.
Eternal Spirit, one of several foundations in Switzerland that assist people who want to end their lives, said Wednesday that Goodall had undergone two medical visits by different doctors since arriving in the city.

No hesitation

"Tonight the board of the foundation will study the documents and also judge the wish to die of David Goodall," Eternal Spirit head Erika Preisig said in an email, adding that the answer would "likely" be yes.
But Gall stressed to reporters that Goodall had the option until the very last minute to back down if he changed his mind.
Asked if he had any hesitations or doubts, the 104-year-old said: "No. None whatsoever."
In assisted dying, the person must be physically capable of carrying out the final deed on their own.
Most Swiss foundations ask patients to drink sodium pentobarbital, an effective sedative that in strong enough doses causes the heart muscle to stop beating.
Since the substance is alkaline and burns a bit when swallowed, Eternal Spirit has instead opted for intravenous infusions.
A professional prepares the needle, but it is up to the patient to open the valve that allows the short-acting barbiturate to mix with a saline solution and begin flowing into their vein.
Goodall said he expected his death to take place around noon on Thursday.
Exit International and Eternal Spirit are advocating for all countries to introduce systems similar to the Swiss one, allowing people to choose to die "in dignity".
"This is a human right, to be able to make an elected decision by a rational adult to take this step," Nitschke said.

Australia's oldest scientist heads to Switzerland to end life

Australia's oldest scientist, wearing a top labelled "ageing disgracefully", has left the country for Switzerland to end his life at the age of 104, saying he is resentful that he must go overseas to die.

10 may 2018--David Goodall does not have a terminal illness but his quality of life has deteriorated and he has secured a fast-track appointment with assisted dying agency Life Circle in Basel.
He got on a plane in Perth late Wednesday surrounded by friends and family saying their final goodbyes, euthanasia advocates told AFP.
He will spend several days with other family in Bordeaux, France, before heading to Switzerland where he is due to end his life on May 10.
"I don't want to go to Switzerland, though it's a nice country," he told broadcaster ABC before leaving.
"But I have to do that in order to get the opportunity of suicide which the Australian system does not permit. I feel very resentful."
Assisted suicide is illegal in most countries around the world and was banned in Australia until the state of Victoria became the first to legalise it last year.
But that legislation, which takes effect from June 2019, only applies to terminally ill patients of sound mind and a life expectancy of less than six months.
Other states in Australia have debated euthanasia in the past, but the proposals have always been defeated, most recently in New South Wales state last year.
Exit International, which helped Goodall make the trip, said it was unjust that one of Australia's "oldest and most prominent citizens should be forced to travel to the other side of the world to die with dignity".
It launched a GoFundMe campaign to get plane tickets for Goodall and his helper upgraded to business class from economy and quickly raised more than Aus$20,000 (US$15,000).
Goodall, an honorary research associate at Perth's Edith Cowan University, made international headlines in 2016 when he was declared unfit to be on campus.
After an uproar and support from scientists globally, the decision was reversed.
He has produced dozens of research papers and until recently continued to review and edit for different ecology journals.
Goodall told ABC he appreciated the public's interest in his plight and hoped it would spark more discussion about voluntary euthanasia.
"I would like them to understand it," he said.
"I am 104 years old so I haven't got much time left anyway. I might as well not have (my health) getting worse and worse, making me unhappy as it goes."

Death of dementia patient stirs Belgium euthanasia fears

Protestors stand in front of a banner which reads "Euthanasia Stop", during an anti-euthanasia demonstration in Brussels. A disputed case of euthanasia in Belgium, involving the death of a dementia patient who never formally asked to die, has again raised concerns about weak oversight in a country with some of the world's most liberal euthanasia laws.

A disputed case of euthanasia in Belgium, involving the death of a dementia patient who never formally asked to die, has again raised concerns about weak oversight in a country with some of the world's most liberal euthanasia laws.

17 feb 2018--The case is described in a letter provided to The Associated Press, written by a doctor who resigned from Belgium's euthanasia commission in protest over the group's actions on this and other cases.
Some experts say the case as documented in the letter amounts to murder; the patient lacked the mental capacity to ask for euthanasia and the request for the bedridden patient to be killed came from family members. The co-chairs of the commission say the doctor mistakenly reported the death as euthanasia.
Although euthanasia has been legal in Belgium since 2002 and has overwhelming public support, critics have raised concerns in recent months about certain practices, including how quickly some doctors approve requests to die from psychiatric patients.
The AP revealed a rift last year between Dr. Willem Distelmans, co-chair of the euthanasia commission, and Dr. Lieve Thienpont, an advocate of euthanasia for the mentally ill. Distelmans suggested some of Thienpont's patients might have been killed without meeting all the legal requirements. Prompted by the AP's reporting, more than 360 doctors, academics and others have signed a petition calling for tighter controls on euthanasia for psychiatric patients.
Euthanasia—when doctors kill patients at their request—can be granted in Belgium to people with both physical and mental health illnesses. The condition does not need to be fatal, but suffering must be "unbearable and untreatable." It can only be performed if specific criteria are fulfilled, including a "voluntary, well-considered and repeated" request from the person.
But Belgium's euthanasia commission routinely violates the law, according to a September letter of resignation written by Dr. Ludo Vanopdenbosch, a neurologist, to senior party leaders in the Belgian Parliament who appoint members of the group.
The most striking example took place at a meeting in early September, Vanopdenbosch writes, when the group discussed the case of a patient with severe dementia, who also had Parkinson's disease. To demonstrate the patient's lack of competence, a video was played showing what Vanopdenbosch characterized as "a deeply demented patient."
The patient, whose identity was not disclosed, was euthanized at the family's request, according to Vanopdenbosch's letter. There was no record of any prior request for euthanasia from the patient.
After hours of debate, the commission declined to refer the case to the public prosecutor to investigate if criminal charges were warranted.
Vanopdenbosch confirmed the letter was genuine but would not comment further about the specific case details.

The two co-chairs of the euthanasia commission, Distelmans and Gilles Genicot, a lawyer, said the doctor treating the patient mistakenly called the procedure euthanasia, and that he should have called it palliative sedation instead. Palliative sedation is the process of drugging patients near the end of life to relieve symptoms, but it is not meant to end life.
"This was not a case of illegal euthanasia but rather a case of legitimate end-of-life decision improperly considered by the physician as euthanasia," Genicot and Distelmans said in an email.
Vanopdenbosch, who is also a palliative care specialist, wrote that the doctor's intention was "to kill the patient" and that "the means of alleviating the patient's suffering was disproportionate."
Though no one outside the commission has access to the case's medical records—the group is not allowed by law to release that information—some critics were stunned by the details in Vanopdenbosch's letter.
"It's not euthanasia because the patient didn't ask, so it's the voluntary taking of a life," said Dr. An Haekens, psychiatric director at the Alexianen Psychiatric Hospital in Tienen, Belgium. "I don't know another word other than murder to describe this."
Kristof Van Assche, a professor of health law at the University of Antwerp, wrote in an email the commission itself wasn't breaking the law because the group is not required to refer a case unless two-thirds of the group agree— even if the case "blatantly disregards" criteria for euthanasia.
But without a request from the patient, the case "would normally constitute manslaughter or murder," he wrote. "The main question is why this case was not deemed sufficiently problematic" to prompt the commission to refer the case to prosecutors.
Vanopdenbosch, who in the letter called himself a "big believer" in euthanasia, cited other problems with the commission. He said that when he expressed concerns about potentially problematic cases, he was immediately "silenced" by others. And he added that because many of the doctors on the commission are leading euthanasia practitioners, they can protect each other from scrutiny, and act with "impunity."
Vanopdenbosch wrote that when cases of euthanasia are identified that don't meet the legal criteria, they are not forwarded to the public prosecutor's office as is required by law, but that the commission itself acts as the court.
In the 15 years since euthanasia was legalized in Belgium, more than 10,000 people have been euthanized, and just one of those cases has been referred to prosecutors.
Genicot and Distelmans said the group thoroughly assesses every euthanasia case to be sure all legal conditions have been met.
"It can obviously occur that some debate emerges among members but our role is to make sure that the law is observed and certainly not to trespass it," they said. They said it was "absolutely false" that Vanopdenbosch had been muzzled and said they regretted his resignation.

The state of euthanasia in Europe

13 dec 2014--French legislation introduced Friday to ease restrictions on doctor-assisted death risks further diversifying the range of clashing national laws on euthenasia across Europe.

Following is a round-up of the state of current euthanasia regulations in Europe.

LEGALISED

In THE NETHERLANDS, active, direct euthanasia has been legal since April 2002. Requested administration of a drug in lethal doses is authorised if patients make the request while fully mentally lucid. They must also endure unbearable and endless suffering from a condition diagnosed as incurable by at least two doctors.

The Netherlands has also authorised euthanasia for children younger than 12 under strict conditions.

BELGIUM lifted restrictions on euthanasia in September 2002 for patients facing constant, unbearable and untreatable physical or psychic suffering; aged 18 or over; and who request termination of life in a voluntary, deliberated and repeated manner free from coercion.

Provisions for doctor-assisted death in cases that meet those criteria may also be stipulated in "living wills" written by healthy people before they fall ill, and which remain valid for five years.

In February 2014, Belgium became the first country to authorise children to request euthanasia if they suffer a terminal disease, and understand the consequences of the act.

In LUXEMBOURG, a text legalising euthanasia in certain terminal cases was approved in March 2009. It excludes minors.

AUTHORISED OR TOLERATED

SWITZERLAND is one of the rare countries that allows assisted suicide by patients administering a lethal dose of medication themselves. Switzerland does not allow active, direct euthanasia by a third party, but tolerates the provision of substances to relieve suffering even if death is a possible side-effect.

Passive euthanasia, or the halting of medical procedures that maintain life, is also tolerated.

In FRANCE, a 2005 law acknowledges a "right to die" in connection with procedures to ease suffering.

A doctor can prescribe pain killers even if their use under certain conditions may result in death, provided the patient is in an advanced stage of an incurable disease.

SWEDEN authorised passive euthanasia in 2010.

BRITAIN has allowed medical personnel to halt life-preserving treatment in certain cases since 2002. Prosecution of those who have helped a close relative die after clearly expressing the desire to end their lives has receded since 2010.

In AUSTRIA and GERMANY, passive euthanasia is permitted if the patient has requested it.

Since 1992, DENMARK has allowed patients to file previously written refusal of excessive treatment in dire situations, with the document held in a centralised register.

In NORWAY, passive euthanasia is permitted if requested by the patient, or by a relative if the patient is unconscious.

In HUNGARY, SPAIN and the CZECH REPUBLIC, people with incurable diseases can refuse treatment.

In PORTUGAL, active and passive euthanasia is not legal, but an ethical council has approved the halting of treatment in certain cases.

PROHIBITED

In ITALY, ROMANIA, GREECE, BOSNIA, SERBIA, CROATIA, POLAND AND IRELAND euthanasia is forbidden, and considered homicide. Punishment can range from 14 and 15 years in prison in Ireland and Italy respectively, to relatively light sentences in Croatia.