Dr. Stephen Hawking. AP FILE PHOTO/NASA, Paul. E. Alers
World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking said that he will consider assisted suicide if he becomes a “burden” to his family and is experiencing “great pain.”
“I would consider assisted suicide only if I were in great pain or felt I had nothing more to contribute but was just a burden to those around me,” Hawking said in an interview with British comedian Dara O’Briain for a new BBC program.
During the interview, Hawking said that people have the right to end their lives, adding that “To keep someone alive against their wishes is the ultimate indignity.”
The 73-year-old physicist also revealed how he also gets “very lonely.”
“At times I get very lonely because people are afraid to talk to me or don’t wait for me to write a response. I’m shy and tired at times. I find it difficult to talk to people I don’t know.” Hawking said.
Hawking, who suffers from motor neuron disease, communicates through a speech synthesizer attached to his cheek muscle.
Despite expressing his stance on assisted suicide, he said that he will not go anytime soon.
“I am damned if I’m going to die before I have unraveled more of the universe,” he said.
Hawking’s life was the subject of the Oscar-winning film “The Theory of Everything” where the physicist was portrayed by Eddie Redmayne. AJH
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