Pretoria - A terminally-ill South African man died of natural causes Thursday on the same day that a court granted him the right to end his life, a ruling that could pave the way for assisted suicide legislation.
Retired advocate Robin Stransham-Ford, 65, was reported to be heavily sedated and a statement from his family did not say whether he died before or after the ruling.
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"Since receiving the heartening news of the ground-breaking judgement, we are deeply saddened to announce that Robin has passed away," the family said.
"It was in the presence of his family and carers that Robin died peacefully."
Dignity SA, which lobbies for assisted suicide legislation, said that Stransham-Ford "died peacefully of natural causes".
The High Court in Pretoria on Thursday ruled that Stransham-Ford, who suffered from prostate cancer, could have a doctor help him end his life, and that the doctor would be protected from prosecution.
Medically-assisted suicide remains illegal in South Africa, but there have been growing calls for it to be legalised.
Judge Hans Fabricius said in his ruling that Stransham-Ford was entitled "to end his life, either by administration of a lethal agent or by providing the applicant with the necessary lethal agent to administer himself."
Dignity SA said it expected the judge's decision to "set in motion the process of legalising assisted dying in South Africa."
Assisted suicide is illegal in many parts of the world.
Switzerland is one of the few countries in Europe that allows doctors help patients end their lives.
In February, Canada's supreme court lifted a ban on doctor-assisted suicide for mentally competent adults suffering from an incurable disease.
A South African professor, Sean Davison, was in 2010 found guilty by a New Zealand court of helping his cancer-stricken mother take her own life by giving her a lethal dose of morphine.
The suicide occurred in New Zealand, where Davison was living. He was placed under house arrest for five months.
www.news24.com/nigeria/World/News/Man-dies-naturally-on-same-day-as-winning-right-to-die-20150430www.news24.com/nigeria/World/News/Man-dies-naturally-on-same-day-as-winning-right-to-die-20150430
Personal Opinion: Persons in such conditions should be granted the right to suicide if they which and if their conditions are evaluated by a specialist as requiring such.

Fate!

emmyrichie:
Fate!

but do you support the idea of one having the right to suicide when faced with a debilitatingly terminal illness?

chibecanglobal:
but do you support the idea of one having the right to suicide when faced with a debilitatingly terminal illness?

Euthanasia to some extent is justifiable when the suffering becomes too much and unbearable.

Watching a loved one go through the excruciating pains and agony of terminal disease(s) can be heart wrenching sometimes.

Except you want to apply the concept of religious world view where people might tend to exercise their faith with the view to heal the sick through supernatural means.

To me, there's limit to everything and in most cases, the option of euthanasia comes in naturally when a certain threshold is crossed with no hope of a positive turn around.

in Gbenga voice wahala dey make we no c am

bewla:
in Gbenga voice wahala dey make we no c am

amen o