Archbishop Desmond Tutu Advocates 'Right To Assisted Death'

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient and an anti-apartheid campaigner revealed that he is in support of the option of assisted death.

On his 85^th birthday, he wrote in the Washington post newspaper that "he did not want to be kept alive at all costs". Desmond Tutu came forward in commendation of assisted death in 2014 but did not specify whether he would opt for it himself or not, according to BBC News. He was hospitalized last month for a procedure for recurring infections.

"I hope I am treated with compassion and allowed to pass on to the next phase of life's journey in the manner of my choice," Mr. Desmond Tutu wrote.

He advocated assisted death for people who are suffering from unbearable pain and wish to end their trauma as a matter of choice. He stated that when an open option of assisted death is put in front of such a patient, it brings about an immense feeling of comfort and that people should not be denied the right to make this choice.

Though there is no discrete legislation in South Africa that governs assisted death, in a historic ruling in April 2015, a court in South Africa granted the right to assisted death to a terminally ill man. This verdict prompted calls for a clarification of laws regarding such cases that demand assisted death.

The Anglican Church, of which Mr. Desmond Tutu is a member, is unwaveringly against the ideology of assisted death. However, this is not the first time that Desmond Tutu has spoken anything against the belief of the Church.

He has always been an outspoken supporter of gay rights, and has even openly criticized the conservative attitude of Christians to homosexuality.   In 2013, he stated that he "would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven" and prefer going to "the other place".

Earlier this year, he attended the wedding of his daughter Mpho with her female partner and showered his blessings on the couple despite the fact that this marriage was against the Anglican law of matrimony which states that "holy matrimony is the lifelong and exclusive union between one man and one woman".

During his tenure as the archbishop of Cape Town, he controversially supported the amendment citing to make abortion more readily available in South Africa inspite of some personal and traditional reservations.