When details of the deaths of the Crofts and Lisette Nigot were made public, many tried to medicalise their situations. An assortment of diseases and conditions were suggested as reasons for their decisions to end their lives. Underpinning all of this was the belief that ‘well people’ (anyone not terminally ill) do not take their own lives.
But the trend continues. In May 2018, Australian ecologist, Professor David Good died in Switzerland. He was not sick but he was 104 years old. Shortly prior to his death, he told the media that his quality of life had been ‘rather poorly’ for some time. What he meant by this was that because he was no longer able do the things he loved (field work in the Australian bush), he felt his life had run its course.
Professor David Goodall
In December 2019, South African-born Laura Henkel took the same path as David Goodall. At 91, Laura Henkel was not sick. However, she said that her life was no longer enjoyable. Added to this deep-seated feeling was a repulsion of having to ‘go into a nursing home,’ Laura opted to go ‘while the going was good’. A peaceful death at Pegasos in Basel. Laura’s story is now the subject of a 2021 feature documentary film, ‘Laura’s Choice’. See: https://lauraschoice.org/