South Africa court rules out the right-to-die for the terminally ill patients

The Supreme Court of Appeal or SCA of South Africa has ruled out a High Court that granted the ‘right-to-die’ to a terminally ill cancer patient. The High Court of Pretoria last year ruled that the patient had the right to commit suicide with a doctor’s help. The case involved the Cape Town advocate 65-year-old Robin Stransham. The High Court’s decision was appealed by the State. This appeal involved the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, the Minister of Health, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Health Professionals Council of South Africa.  Mthunzi Mhaga, the spokesman for the Department of Justice and Correctional Services said, ‘‘Our argument has always been that the right to life is enshrined in our constitution – and equally doctors took an oath to save and preserve life, not to end it.”