NDPP won't oppose assisted dying ConCourt challenge
The NDPP will not oppose Dignity SA’s Constitutional Court challenge to decriminalise medically assisted dying, leaving the Health Minister and the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) to contest the case.
The NDPP was the last of the four respondents cited in Dignity SA’s case to state its position, which it did in a notice filed last week, according to Business Day.
The Justice & Constitutional Development Minister previously indicated the department would abide by the court’s decision.
Dignity SA launched its bid to legalise medically assisted dying in April. It argued in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) that the current ban is at odds with constitutionally enshrined rights to human dignity and bodily autonomy.
Its campaign seeks to enable people suffering from a terminal illness or condition with no hope of cure or recovery to access medical assistance in dying, subject to strict criteria.
‘Under the current common law, any doctor or loved one who assists any suffering person to die may be prosecuted for murder. The decision by the country’s highest prosecuting authority not to oppose the application reflects a recognition that the Minister of Health is the most appropriate party to air the substantive arguments,’ said Dignity SA chairperson and co-founder Willem Landman.
Dignity SA’s application seeks an order declaring the blanket common law prohibition of medical assistance in dying unlawful, invalid and unconstitutional, and directing Parliament to pass appropriate legislation to resolve the issue.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has undertaken to submit his arguments against the case by 31 July, according to Dignity SA operations manager Leigh Meinart.
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.
