Was assisted suicide death kept secret?
Did the family of cancer patient Robin Stransham-Ford – who won his court battle for assisted suicide – keep his death a secret so the court case could be concluded? The Times reports that is one of the questions the Health Professions Council of SA wants the SCA to consider as it decides whether terminally ill patients can use doctors to end their lives.
Last year Stransham-Ford won his legal battle for the right to die – but he died two hours before the ruling. The council, which wants the ruling struck down, claims in an affidavit that his death was kept quiet so the court case could run its course. In an affidavit submitted to the court, Marlise Botha, for the HPCSA, says the medical records showed that Stransham-Ford’s pain levels ‘were only moderate and were being effectively controlled by low doses of morphine’. The council wants the SCA to hear the new evidence – an unusual move.
Tomorrow the court will hear argument about whether the Constitution allows terminally ill patients, who are mentally fit, to ask a doctor to help them die. The council argues that the High Court would never have ruled if Stransham-Ford’s death had been disclosed.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
