Palliative Care Centres Take A Position On Assisted Dying

The National Association of Palliative Care Centres for South Africa (APCC) recently released a position statement of end-of-life decisions that is available on their homepage. In the statement, the organisation notes that, whilst they do not endorse medically assisted dying as part of palliative care practice, APCC does, “recognise the importance of ongoing, respectful engagement with this issue—particularly as it intersects with patient autonomy, systemic readiness, and the lived experience of suffering."

This was demonstrated in DignitySA’s End-of-Life Care Seminar that was held in May this year where APCC board member and spokesperson, Hanneke Lubbe, joined us as a speaker. For a recording of the full seminar, please visit YouTube.

The APCC’s statement ends by noting that, “Our priority remains advocating for equitable access to comprehensive, high-quality palliative care across all communities, ensuring that every patient facing life-threatening illness receives the dignity, comfort, and support they deserve.”

Advocating for access to palliative care for all is a focus area of DignitySA’s as well and this month we are profiling the APCC’s excellent campaign called ‘Through the Palliative Care Lens”. The campaign serves to shine a light on the exemplary work of palliative care centres across the country, and on World Hospice Palliative Care Day in particular which falls on Saturday 11 October 2025 this year.

Visit https://apcc.org.za/world-hospice-palliative-care-day-2025/ for more.

Written by Leigh Meinert, Operations Manager, DignitySA