LETTER: Heed Barnard on death and life
The heart surgeon was deeply concerned with the question of euthanasia
I attended an event in the late 1990s in Patras, Greece in honour of Dr Christiaan Barnard, the pioneer heart surgeon. We were both speakers on philosophy and medicine, the theme of the event. Barnard identified a few medical problems, inter alia, the issue of euthanasia, and asked the audience to consider whether a doctor should have the right to end a life. He was clearly struggling with the issue of life and death, saying that after 50 years of practising medicine he knew more about death than about life. He saw death as part of life. He stated that the primary goal of medicine is to maintain or increase the quality of life and questioned continuing medication when this was no longer possible. He also asked the question: “If a doctor’s role is to give a patient a good life, should he not be able to give him a good death?” He also asked whether a suffering patient should have the right to end his own life, and whether a doctor should be allowed to assist. Barnard quoted a suff...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.