A rights-based approach to physician assisted-suicide in South Africa: towards realizing the 'right to die'.

This article critically examines the legal and constitutional debates surrounding physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in South Africa, where PAS remains criminalized under current law as a violation of the right to life. It argues for recognizing a terminally ill person's right to die with dignity, emphasizing the interplay between the constitutional rights to life, dignity, privacy, and freedom, and highlighting the limitations of existing legal frameworks that compel suffering and restrict medical practitioners. Drawing on natural law theory, the humanist perspective, and comparative international examples such as the Netherlands, the article advocates for legislative reform and judicial interpretation that would decriminalize PAS, protect medical practitioners, and uphold patient autonomy, particularly in light of ongoing court cases like Suzanne Walter and Others v Minister of Health and Others. It also underscores the importance of legal capacity and psychological assessment in PAS decisions and recommends adopting the South African Law Reform Commission's longstanding proposed regulatory framework to provide clarity and safeguard ethical practice.