“Euthanasia actually saves lives” – convicted murderer Sean Davison on our constitutional right to die

Referred to by the media as the “right-to-die activist”, Professor Sean Davison made headlines in June 2019 when he pleaded guilty to three counts of murder for assisting three men, all of whom were physically incapable of ending their own unbearable suffering, to die. It wasn’t long ago, however, that the DignitySA founder and committed campaigner for a change in  the law to allow for voluntary euthanasia in South Africa was a family man who enjoyed his work as a UWC biotechnology professor and had no thoughts on euthanasia. In 2006, Davison’s terminally ill mother reached the end of her tether and begged him to help her die. A more unthinkable situation doesn’t come to mind. It was then that Davison realised that it was not his choice – it was his mother’s choice to die and he agreed to help her while she still had a little bit of dignity. This event shaped the rest of Davison’s life. BizNews spoke to Davison to find out more about a man who has accepted triple murder convictions in his fight to decriminalise voluntary euthanasia. What followed was an in-depth, raw and detailed discussion of his experience and the radical flaws in SA law that have undoubtedly left many people with an impossible choice between doing what is right and doing what is legal. The only real conviction when it comes to Davison is his realisation that it is fundamentally moral to have the option of an assisted death and to choose your own time of dying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices