African octors oppose euthanasia, call for better palliative care

Mwangi Muraguri

African doctors have opposed euthanasia, also known as “mercy killing”, for terminally ill patients on request.

Addressing the Press at Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa yesterday, the President of the Health Professions Council of South Africa, Prof Mochichi Mokgokong, said mercy killing was against doctors’ code of ethics.

“Doctors take an oath to protect life and not to end it. Even if a patient asked for euthanasia and the doctor administered it, it is nothing short of assisting a patient commit suicide, which is wrong,” said Mokgokong during the Annual Association of Medical Council’s of Africa conference.

He said most requests for euthanasia, which involve deliberate injection of terminally ill patients with drugs to end their life, were from persons with terminal illnesses like advanced cancer.

He said assisted suicide and euthanasia were only legal in The Netherlands and the Belgium, and four states in the US.

“The fact that few countries are willing to embrace euthanasia shows just how much doctors around the world are opposed to the practice which goes against the code of ethics,” said Mokgokong, who heads the neurosurgery department at the University of Pretoria.

He called for improved palliative care to reduce suffering of patients in their last days of life.

Build hospices

He said palliative care was poorly developed across Africa and called for building of hospices to alleviate suffering for the terminally ill and who were likely to be driven by pain to request to be assisted to die.

“Patients are suffering but the solution to their suffering is better care for them in well equipped hospices with psychologists, psychiatrists to help them die peacefully and help affected families to cope,” said Mokgokong who has 28 years experience practicing as a neurosurgeon.

Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board Chief Executive Officer Daniel Yumbya said euthanasia was illegal in the country.

“Euthanasia is criminal as there’s no law that allows it,” said Yumbya.

Euthanasia can be voluntary where a person makes a conscious decision and asks for help to die or non voluntary where a person is unable to give their consent because they are in a comma and another person takes the decision on their behalf.