S. African judge defends ruling in favor of assisted suicide

South African Judge Hans Fabricius on Monday defended his landmark ruling in favor of assisted suicide.

In a 60 page document, Fabricius gave reasons for his order, saying that in the absence of legislation on assisted suicide, courts have to look at the matter on a case by case basis and make a decision based on the facts of each applicant.

Last Thursday, Fabricious ruled in favor of assisted suicide in the case of 65-year-old Robin Stransham-Ford, who suffered from prostate cancer.

Stransham-Ford, who lived in Cape Town, lodged an application requesting the court to allow a doctor to commit assisted suicide or euthanasia. Stransham-Ford died on Thursday, shortly after Fabricious gave the ruling.

Fabricious also ruled that the prohibition of assisted suicide by doctors limits South African's constitutional rights to human dignity.

The ruling sparked a heated debate on euthanasia in the country.

In his Monday statement, Fabricious stood firm behind his ground-breaking ruling, refusing to set aside his order.

He said his decision ought to be decided by the Constitutional Court. The appeal will be heard on June 2.

Fabricious rejected an application by the government and the Health Professions Council to rescind his order, saying it concerned a matter of public interest and could affect more people than just Stransham-Ford.

Also on Monday, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha voiced opposition to assisted suicide.

No one under the constitution of South African has got a right to kill another person, the minister said.

The minister said that by assisting any person to kill themselves, one becomes party to murder.

"We would like to see this judgment declared of no force and effect by reason of the applicant having died and also see a situation where this judgment is not used or followed by any other court," said the minister. Endi