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Decriminalise assisted death for terminally ill, requests Dignity SA

10 Apr 2026


Business Day reported on 10 April that the non-profit organisation DignitySA requested the High Court to decriminalise assisting terminally ill people in dying. According to DignitySA existing bans are unconstitutional as they are in conflict with the SA Constitution which guarantees the rights to human dignity and to the bodily integrity of the person.
The organisation also demands that a new law regulating the issue be passed within two years of the ruling.

The lawsuit concentrates on the following parts of the Constitution:

  • Article 10 – the right to human dignity;
  • Article 11 – the right to life; and
  • Article 12 – the right to bodily and psychological integrity.
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