Stephen Hawking Says He Would Consider Assited Suicide If He Had 'Nothing More to Contribute'

Renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking recently said that he would consider assisted suicide if he had "nothing more to contribute."

Hawking, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease, made his comments in a recent interview for BBC with British comedian Dara O'Briain.

"To keep someone alive against their wishes is the ultimate indignity. 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 told the comedian in a recent interview, adding however that he'd be "damned if I'm going to die before I have unravelled more of the universe."

As The Telegraph reports, O'Briain also asked Hawking if he ever gets lonely. Hawking, who is mostly paralyzed due to his rare form of Lou Gehrig's disease, communicates through a speech device attached to his cheek.

"At times I get very lonely because people are afraid to talk to me or don't wait for me to write a response," Hawking told the comedian, adding "I'm shy and tired at times. I find it difficult to talk to people I don't know."

According to The Guardian, Hawking has discussed suicide in previous interviews. The famed physicist admitted in 2014 in an interview with the BBC that he had tried to commit suicide decades earlier by refusing to breathe after undergoing an operation.

"I briefly tried to commit suicide by not breathing," he said. "However, the reflex to breathe was too strong."