International
Archbishop Tutu opts for assisted death
The black head of the South African Anglican Church, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has said he would prefer to be assisted to die.
Archbishop Tutu, who had been in and out of hospital over protracted sickness, stated this in an opinion he wrote in Washington Post on his birthday on Friday.
Tutu, who became the first black head of the South African Anglican Church on September 7, 1986, clocked 85 years today.
In the write-up, Tutu said: “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. 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, who had expressed strong opposition to assisted death all his life, renounced his position in 2004, amidst growing agitation and divisions on the subject in his country.
South African laws prescribes a jail term of 14 years for any doctor who is involved in assisted death.
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