 Ruth Westheimer, known as Dr. Ruth, died Friday in New York City. She was 96 years old. NPR's Chloe Veltman says the internationally renowned sex therapist tore down taboos with her open and light-hearted public conversations about human intimacy. Ruth Westheimer was in her 50s when she began her career advising people in a very public way on the most private of matters. Personally, I am not for vasectomies.