Euthanasia goes to court

DIGNITY SA SEEKS A JUDICIAL RULING ON THE RIGHT TO DIE WITH DIGNITY

- Hein Kaiser

South African courts will soon face the critical question of whether individuals have the right to choose how they die.

Non-profit organisation Dignity South Africa is in the final stages of preparing a high court application to decriminalise and legalise assisted dying.

Assisted suicide remains illegal in South Africa, despite the concept raising critical questions about balancing the right to life, dignity and patient autonomy under the constitution.

While patients can refuse life-prolonging treatment, no legal framework addresses euthanasia without criminal consequences.

Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Cape Town and an executive member of Dignity South Africa Joseph Raimondo said dying is one of the most important parts of living.

"We all want to die well, for ourselves and for our loved ones. Although we might differ on what we think it means to die with dignity, we can all agree that somehow the manner of the deaths we wish for, says something about our identities; how we see ourselves as individuals and how we see ourselves as a society."

"I don't believe South Africans talk nearly enough about death and dying, and what it means to die with dignity," he said.

"Death coach" Sean O'Connor helps individuals through the process of coming to terms with their mortality.