Desmond Tutu
South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop,
Desmond Mpilo Tutu, who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an
opponent of apartheid, has said he would like the option of ending his
life through assisted dying as he called on politicians, lawmakers and
religious leaders to take action on the issue.
In an article published on his 85th birthday on Friday, and
following several spells in hospital this year for recurring infections,
the emeritus archbishop of Cape Town and anti-apartheid activist
reiterated his support for assisted dying, first disclosed in the
Guardian in 2014.
“With my life closer to its end than its beginning, I wish to
help give people dignity in dying,” he wrote in the Washington Post.
“Just as I have argued firmly for compassion and fairness in
life, I believe that terminally ill people should be treated with the
same compassion and fairness when it comes to their deaths,” he added.
“Dying people should have the right to choose how and when they
leave Mother Earth. I believe that, alongside the wonderful palliative
care that exists, their choices should include a dignified assisted
death.”
Tutu had changed his mind over assisted suicide two years ago after
a lifelong opposition but had remained ambiguous about whether he
personally would choose such a death.
He said: “Today, I myself am even closer to the departures hall
than arrivals, so to speak, and my thoughts turn to how I would like to
be treated when the time comes. Now more than ever, I feel compelled to
lend my voice to this cause.”
He believed in the sanctity of life but also that terminally ill
people should not be forced to endure terrible pain and suffering, he
wrote. Instead they should have control over the manner and timing of
their death.
He added: “I have prepared for my death and have made it clear
that I do not wish to be kept alive at all costs. I hope I am treated
with compassion and allowed to pass on to the next phase of life’s
journey in the manner of my choice.”
Tutu pointed to laws in California and Canada that permit assisted dying for terminally ill people. But “there are still many thousands of dying people across the world who are denied their right to die with dignity”.
He said: “For those suffering unbearably and coming to the end
of their lives, merely knowing that an assisted death is open to them
can provide immeasurable comfort.”
He concluded: “In refusing dying people the right to die with
dignity, we fail to demonstrate the compassion that lies at the heart of
Christian values. I pray that politicians, lawmakers and religious
leaders have the courage to support the choices terminally ill citizens
make in departing Mother Earth. The time to act is now.”
Tutu, who won the Nobel peace prize in 1984, has been admitted to
hospital several times, most recently in September, for recurring
infections as a result of surgery for prostate cancer.
Assisted dying is legal in Switzerland, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg, Albania, Colombia and Japan as well as Canada. Several US
states have enacted measures on assisted dying, including Washington,
California, Oregon, Vermont and New Mexico.
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