Physician-assisted suicide (PAS)/Euthanasia was the subject of research by Master of Laws (LLM) in Medical Law graduate Mr Sabastian Naicker, with the focus on activist Dr Sean Davison and his stance on the issue.
Titled: ‘Euthanasia Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Case Study on Dr Davison’s Before We Say Goodbye’, the study was supervised by Professor David Mcquoid-Mason. It compares the legal framework adopted by countries where euthanasia/PAS is legal, which is intended to open the door for a much-needed revamp of the bid to legalise euthanasia/PAS in South Africa.
‘My research focused specifically on Dr Sean Davison and his stance on euthanasia/PAS which is a contentious topic in South Africa with limited information available. To remain objective while reviewing Dr Davison’s account of his euthanasia journey with his mom proved rather challenging for me,’ said Naicker.
Davison, who holds dual South African and New Zealand citizenship, made headlines when he was sentenced to five months of house arrest in New Zealand in 2010 for helping his 85-year-old mother, who was ill with terminal cancer, to die.
“I critically review the course of action taken by Dr Davison and compare it with global legal best practice of countries actively adopting euthanasia/PAS. I scrutinise his account captured in his book Before We Say Goodbye, which details the events leading up to him actively handing his mother a lethal dose of drugs to prematurely end her life,” said Naicker.
Then in 2019, Davison was sentenced to eight years’ house arrest – five of which were suspended in South Africa. He was found guilty of premeditated murder for the assisted suicide of quadriplegic Anrich Burger, motor neuron disease sufferer and stroke survivor Justin Varian and Richard Holland who had brain damage from a cycling accident. Davison was released in June 2022 after three years of house arrest and continues to campaign for the legalisation of euthanasia in South Africa.
“There is huge societal interest in euthanasia/PAS in South Africa and the laws and practices are gaining traction around the globe. While several countries have made provision for the practice of euthanasia within their legal framework, most countries are yet to table the discussion on euthanasia/PAS as both an ethical and legal remedy to terminate a life of suffering,” said Naicker.
Words: Thandiwe Jumo
Photograph: Sethu Dlamini