Johannesburg Doctor And Patient Beg For Euthanasia To End Their 'Torturous' Lives

"I work with terminal patients every day. A dignified end is first prize."
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A Johannesburg doctor has asked a court for the right to end her own life and that of a patient because the symptoms of their respective illnesses are "torture".

Dr Sue Walter, 43, and Dieter Harck, 68, jointly submitted an application at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday calling for the legalisation of euthanasia for consenting patients, Netwerk24 reported.

Harck was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in June 2013. Walter, who has a consulting room at the Mediclinic hospital in Morningside, is also terminally ill with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer that affects the plasma cells in bone marrow.

Walter, a supporter of Dying with Dignity SA, wrote on its website: "I work with terminal patients every day. A dignified end is first prize."

In court papers, Walter and Harck have said that they suffer from "torturous symptoms".

They have both requested euthanasia or assisted suicide and also requested that Walter be allowed to prescribe medicine to Harck for this purpose.

In their application they argue that it is not illegal for each of them to take their own lives, and it also isn't illegal for a doctor to prescribe medicine which patients can use to commit suicide. However, they can ingest it themselves.