SOUTH AFRICA SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS OVERTURNS PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE RULING

While the District of Columbia has just passed a bill allowing physician assisted suicide,  the Supreme Court of Appeals in South Africa has overturned a high court ruling on Tuesday that would have allowed a 65-year-old man who suffered from prostate cancer to kill himself with the help of a doctor.

“A court addressing these issues needs to be aware of differing cultural values and attitudes within our diverse population,” the Supreme Court stated.  In addition, the Appeals Court noted that the high court made its ruling on an “incorrect and restricted factual basis,” and that there was “no full and proper examination of the present state of our law in this difficult area.”

In 2015, the Pretoria High Court ruled that the petitioner could end his life with medical assistance, stating he was living with unbearable pain. The ruling would have paved the way for assisted suicide legislation within the country.

However, before the court officially granted the order, the man died. The government brought his case to the attention of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which officially overturned the pro-assisted suicide ruling.

Some euthanasia advocates, such as Dignity SA, expressed outrage in the new ruling, calling physician assisted suicide “a human rights issue.” The pro-assisted suicide organization voiced its disappointment, and said they might take the case to the country's constitutional court.  Even the renowned and now-retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa voiced his support of physician assisted suicide, saying that he would “not wish to be kept alive at all costs.”

However, Justice Minister Michael Masutha expressed relief over the court’s decision, especially as it pertains to the country’s constitution.  “We are relieved that the Supreme Court of Appeals correctly stated the law as this decision could have far reaching implications on the constitutionally entrenched right to life and our common law crimes of murder and culpable homicide,” the Justice Minister stated.

Among the reasons the Court of Appeals ruled against physician-assisted suicide was the chance that the acceptance of voluntary euthanasia would lead to eventual abuse and could overflow into far-reaching cases.

While physician-assisted suicide currently remains illegal in South Africa, the issue is gaining traction in other parts of the world. 

A handful of states in the U.S. have passed pro-euthanasia legislations over the past few years, while other countries – such as the Netherlands and Belgium – have accepted the practice since 2002.  Recently, Canada, Germany and Japan have passed legislation to legalize physician assisted suicide.

As the struggle to ensure the right to life continues, South Africa has maintained not only its constitutional integrity but its moral compass as well.

The country once assailed for its ignoble policy of Apartheid stands today as a beacon of hope for all those who defend life as a gift from God to be cherished and defended against any and all challenges.  

In this, we commend the Supreme Court of Appeals of South Africa for their courage and ask the Lord to bless and assist all those who work tirelessly in defense of the right to life from conception to the moment of natural death.