在《歡樂頌》中離世：104歲科學家選擇安樂死

On the eve of his death, David Goodall, 104, Australian scientist, father, grandfather and right-to-die advocate, was asked if he had any moments of hesitation, “even fleeting ones.”

104歲的澳大利亞科學家戴維·古道爾(David Goodall)既是一名父親，也是一名祖父，還是一名死亡權(quán)倡導者。離世前夕，他被問及否有過猶豫的時候，“哪怕是稍縱即逝的”。

“No, none whatever,” Mr. Goodall said in a strong voice. “I no longer want to continue life, and I’m happy to have a chance tomorrow to end it.”

“沒有，從來沒有，”古道爾鏗鏘有力地說。“我不想繼續(xù)活下去了，我很高興可以在明天結(jié)束生命。”

Mr. Goodall spoke on Wednesday before a phalanx journalists and photographers in Basel, Switzerland. That the inquisitors had come from around the globe to hear what would be most likely the last public words of the man once called Australia’s oldest working scientist was evidence that his campaign to end his life had captivated audiences worldwide.

古道爾是澳大利亞最年長的在職科學家，周三，他在瑞士巴塞爾接受一群記者和攝影師的采訪。提問的人從全球各地趕來，聆聽極有可能是他最后的公開發(fā)言。這證明他結(jié)束自己生命的行動在世界范圍內(nèi)引起了關(guān)注。

On Thursday, Mr. Goodall died about 12:30 p.m. local time, according to Exit International, a right-to-die organization of which he had been a longtime member.

據(jù)死亡權(quán)組織“解脫國際”(Exit International)稱，周四，古道爾在當?shù)貢r間下午12點30分離世。他是該組織的資深成員。

A botanist and ecologist of some renown, he was not terminally ill, but his health had deteriorated so badly that he had to stop most of his activities — like working at Edith Cowan University in Perth and performing in the theater — and he did not want to continue living. A fall in his home last month exacerbated his condition.

作為植物學家和生態(tài)學家，古道爾頗有聲望。他沒有病入膏肓，但他的健康狀況嚴重惡化，以致他不得不停止大部分活動——比如在珀斯埃迪斯科文大學(Edith Cowan University)的工作和在劇院的表演;他已不想繼續(xù)活下去。上月，他在家中跌倒，導致情況進一步惡化。

Keenly aware that the news conference on Wednesday was one last opportunity to help promote euthanasia and assisted dying in his own country, Mr. Goodall withstood the barrage of questions, squinting because of the flashing cameras and sometimes struggling to understand because of his hearing loss.

古道爾敏銳地意識到，周三的新聞發(fā)布會是他幫助推廣澳大利亞安樂死和輔助死亡的最后機會。他經(jīng)受住了連珠炮似的提問。因為閃光燈，他瞇著眼睛。因為聽力受損，他有時候聽不清提出的問題。

He was flanked by Philip Nitschke, the director of Exit International; and Moritz Gall, a representative for Lifecircle, an association that supports people going through major life decisions and guides them through the laws of Switzerland.

他旁邊是“解脫國際”的負責人菲利普·尼奇克(Philip Nitschke)和“生命周期”(Lifecircle)的代表莫里茨·加爾(Moritz Gall)。“生命周期”是一個支持人們完成主要的生命決策，并幫助他們通過瑞士法律規(guī)定的團體。

Mr. Goodall said, “I’ve had a good life.” He was not afraid of death but acknowledged that he previously tried to end his life in Australia.

古道爾說：“我度過了美好的一生。”他不害怕死亡，但他承認自己之前在澳大利亞嘗試過終結(jié)自己的生命。

“It would’ve been much more convenient for everyone if I had been able to,” he said, “but unfortunately it failed.”

“如果我做到了，對所有人來說都方便多了，”他說，“但遺憾的是，嘗試失敗了。”

He was crystal clear about why he had chosen “the Swiss option.” Euthanasia and assisted dying are banned in Australia, though Victoria State has passed a law on assisted dying that goes into effect next year; it will apply only to terminally ill patients who have a life expectancy of no more than six months.

他非常清楚自己為什么選擇了“瑞士選項”。澳大利亞禁止安樂死和輔助死亡，不過維多利亞州通過了一項和輔助死亡有關(guān)的法律。法律將于明年生效，但只適用于預(yù)期壽命不超過六個月的絕癥病人。

He said he hoped his life story would “increase the pressure” on Australia to change its laws. “One wants to be free to choose his death when death is at the appropriate time,” Mr. Goodall said.

他說他希望自己的故事能向澳大利亞“加壓”，迫使其修改法律。“有人希望當死亡在恰當?shù)臅r候到來時，能夠自由選擇自己的死亡，”古道爾說。

He had flown to Basel from his home in Perth last week with the help of Exit International and entered an assisted-dying center on Monday. Lifecircle, which works with the Eternal Spirit, a foundation that facilitates assisted voluntary death, helped him navigate the process. He had consultations this week with two doctors, including a psychiatrist, in Switzerland, and was visited by the Swiss police as a formality.

上周，他在“解脫國際”的幫助下離開珀斯的家飛往巴塞爾，并于周一入住一家輔助死亡中心。與協(xié)助自愿死亡的基金會“永恒的精神”(Eternal Spirit)合作的“生命周期”協(xié)助他完成了這個過程。他本周同兩名醫(yī)生進行了商討，其中包括瑞士的一名精神病專家。瑞士警方探訪了他，這是一種程序。

On Wednesday, realizing that his case had ricocheted around the world and that responding to the outpouring of requests for interviews would have consumed all of his last few days, Mr. Goodall consented to one final news conference.

周三，古道爾意識到自己的事情在全球引起了轟動，而回復蜂擁而至的采訪請求會耗盡他最后幾天時間，于是他同意召開最后一次新聞發(fā)布會。

He expressed gratitude to the Swiss and regret at having to leave home for Switzerland, the only country that offers assisted-dying services to foreigners if the person assisting does not benefit from the person’s death. (Only 40 Australians are known to have made the journey, according to Exit International, because of the length of the flight and the cost of the trip.)

他向瑞士民眾表示感謝，對不得不離開家鄉(xiāng)前往瑞士表示遺憾。瑞士是唯一一個為外國人提供輔助死亡服務(wù)的國家，條件是提供輔助的人不會從死者的死亡中獲益。(據(jù)“解脫國際”稱，因為飛行距離和費用的原因，已知只有40名澳大利亞人踏上這一旅程。)

“I am very appreciative of the hospitality of the Swiss Federation and the ability that one has here to come to an end gracefully,” Mr. Goodall said, adding, “I greatly regret that Australia is behind Switzerland in this move.”

“我非常感謝瑞士聯(lián)邦的盛情款待和人們在這里享有的優(yōu)雅走向生命盡頭的權(quán)利，”古道爾說，并接著表示，“非常遺憾澳大利亞在這一點上落在了瑞士的后面。”

He said that no one in his family had pressured him to change his mind. As for leaving his children and grandchildren behind, he said: “I have already said my piece to my family. I send them my love and I’m glad that I had the opportunity of seeing most of them for the past week.”

他說家里沒人強迫他改變主意。至于離開子孫后輩，他說：“我已經(jīng)和家人告別過了。我向他們問了好，我很高興過去一周有機會見到他們中的大部分人。”

Asked if there was anything he still wanted to do, he said: “There are many things I would like to do, of course, but it’s too late. I’m content to leave them undone.”

被問及還有什么想做的事情時，他說：“肯定有很多事情是我想做的，但為時已晚。沒有做那些事我也很滿足。”

Pressed about what he would miss, he allowed, “I have been missing for a long time my journeys into the Australian countryside, but I haven’t been able to do that for quite a while”

有人逼問他會懷念什么，他同意回答，“長期以來我一直很懷念去澳大利亞鄉(xiāng)下的經(jīng)歷，但從很久以前我就去不了了。”

He was asked about his last meal. “I’m rather limited in my culinary enjoyment nowadays,” he responded. “I don’t find that I can enjoy my meals as I used to.”

他被問到最后一餐會吃什么。“現(xiàn)在，我的飲食享受非常有限，”他回答說，“我不能像從前那樣享受食物了。”

On Thursday, he received a fatal dose of a barbiturate intravenously. In order to comply with Swiss law that bans the interference of third parties in the process, he opened the valve to release the solution himself and fell asleep, dying soon after. Some of his grandchildren were with him in his final hours, Exit International said.

周四，他通過靜脈注射了致命劑量的巴比妥類藥物。為了遵守瑞士法律禁止第三方介入該過程的規(guī)定，他自己打開閥門，釋放出溶液，然后他睡著了，很快就死去了。解脫國際組織表示，在他的最后幾個小時里，他的一些孫輩跟他在一起。

He wanted no funeral and no remembrance service, and he asked that his body be donated to medicine or his ashes sprinkled locally, according to Exit. Mr. Goodall did not believe in the afterlife, the organization said.

解脫國際表示，古道爾不想舉辦葬禮或追悼會，他要求捐獻遺體，用作醫(yī)學研究，或者把他的骨灰撒在當?shù)?。該組織表示，古道爾不相信來世。

How would he like to be remembered? “As an instrument of freeing the elderly from the need to pursue their life irrespective,” he said at the news conference on Wednesday.

他希望人們記得他什么?“令老年人從無差別的求生需求中解脫出來，我對此做了貢獻，”周三，他在新聞發(fā)布會上表示。

At one point, he was asked what tune he would choose for his last song, and he said the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Then he began to sing, with verve and vigor.

在某個時刻，有人問他，他會選哪首樂曲作為自己的終曲，他回答說，貝多芬《第九交響曲》(Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony)的最后樂章。然后他開始唱那首曲子，充滿了熱情和活力。

According to Mr. Nitschke, Mr. Goodall did end up choosing Beethoven, and he died the moment “Ode to Joy” concluded.

據(jù)尼奇克稱，古道爾最后選的的確是貝多芬的樂曲，他在《歡樂頌》(Ode to Joy)曲終時離世。