At a hearing, a man with a deteriorating condition from motor neuron disease (MND), laid out why he wants the right to choose patient-assisted suicide.
Diethelm Harck, 71, is seeking a change in the laws surrounding euthanasia in South Africa. He is presenting his case alongside Dr Suzanne Walter, a palliative care specialist who has multiple myeloma. Both may not live long enough to see the outcome of their application, and have set up trust funds to assist the overturning of laws surround euthanasia and patient-assisted suicide in South Africa.
In his evidence, he said that he loves life “but my biggest fear is that when my love of life reaches the stage of fearing life, I will not be able to die.”
In the hearing via Zoom, Mr Harck said that he used to exercise daily but now takes three hours to complete a simple routine like getting up and making breakfast.Mr Harck said that his deterioration would be progressive; his muscles are weakening eventually he will be unable to breathe as his diaphragm will stop working.
“From what I have seen and witnessed, MND death is not peaceful,” he said. “I have seen a number of colleagues and [support] group members pass away. They had no way to communicate. And they could not breathe easily.”
Mr Harck continued, “We once visited a young girl suffering from MND, who was totally paralysed. She could only speak with the help of an eye gaze machine. When Lynn [Mr Harck’s life partner] asked her what she feared the most, she said not being able to die.”
Their application is being opposed by The Health Professions Council of South Africa and the Ministers of Health, Justice and the National Director of Public Prosecutions. They claimed that palliative care was available to most South Africans and that the right to life must be protected by the ban on euthanasia.
Source: Eyewitness News
