ABOUT US
OUR JOURNEY
Our Journey
DignitySA was established in 2011 in response to the growing recognition of the need for legal and societal reform regarding end-of-life choices in South Africa. Since its inception, DignitySA has been at the forefront of advocacy for the rights of individuals to make autonomous medical decisions, including the right to choose medical assistance in dying. The organisation’s work is rooted in the principles of human dignity, compassion, and respect for personal autonomy, and it has consistently sought to inform public discourse and promote legal reform in South Africa to enable individuals to exercise these rights.
The following are some of the milestones in our journey to date:
2011: DignitySA is founded by Professors Sean Davison (UWC) and Willem Landman (US). The organisation’s inception was closely linked to the personal experiences of Professor Sean Davison, who, in September 2010, was arrested in New Zealand on a charge of attempted murder after assisting his terminally ill mother, Patricia Ferguson, to die by administering a lethal dose of morphine. During his High Court jury trial, Professor Davison was cleared of attempted murder after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of assisted suicide, for which he was sentenced to five months of house arrest. Upon his return to South Africa, Professors Davison and Landman established DignitySA as a formal entity to advocate for the rights of individuals facing end-of-life decisions (and New Zealand subsequently legalised assisted dying).
2012: DignitySA is formally registered as a not-for-profit organisation (NPO) in January and as a public benefit organisation (PBO) in April.
2015: DignitySA supports the landmark legal case of Stransham-Ford v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, which brought national attention to the issue of assisted dying and highlighted the need for legislative reform. DignitySA obtained pro bono legal representation for Adv Robin Stransham-Ford for his application to be granted legal permission to be lawfully medically assisted with dying (North Gauteng High Court, 2015). With Judge Hans Fabricius presiding, Stransham-Ford was granted such permission, but regrettably this was posthumously as he had died two hours before the court ruling.
2016: The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and the Minister of Health appealed the High Court’s decision to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). Once again, DignitySA engaged the pro bono advocates who appeared for Stransham-Ford’s estate. In December the SCA upheld the appeal, setting aside the High Court's order on technical and procedural grounds. The ruling did however leave the door open for future cases on physician-assisted dying, suggesting that the issue could be reconsidered under more appropriate circumstances, with a proper factual record and a comprehensive legal analysis. The SCA highlighted that the development of such complex and morally charged areas of law is often best addressed by Parliament, rather than through individual court applications. In essence, the 2016 SCA ruling emphasised the need for a more robust and comprehensive legal and factual foundation for such a significant change to the common law. In addition, a full bench of the SCA held that DignitySA was a legitimate entity to act in the public interest in a future case to “rectify” the “deficiency” in our law (common law versus constitutional rights).
2016: Archbishop Tutu used the occasion of his 85th birthday to lend his support and moral weight to DignitySA’s campaign for assisted dying (SABC news coverage at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsgeBb990ho)
2017 - 2022: The pro bono advocates in the Stransham-Ford cases initiated a new court application with Mr Diethelm (Dieter) Harck and Dr Sue Walter as applicants. DignitySA was not a party to proceedings but supported the applicants. During Covid-19 (2021), a judge heard testimony via the internet, but he died shortly after the conclusion of proceedings. In December 2022, Mr Harck decided to abandon his court application and join DignitySA’s current court application.
2018: With the parliamentary legal team, DignitySA wrote an amendment to the National Health Act (61 of 2003) to legalise advance directives (living will and durable power of attorney for healthcare). A new election and new parliament, and then Covid-19, put an end to this initiative at the time.
2018: DignitySA hosted the World Conference of Right to Die Societies in Cape Town and co-founder, Prof Sean Davison, served as the Conference’s Chairperson at the time.
2023: After seeking counsel, DignitySA made a strategic decision to assemble a legal team and embark on the current court application in January 2023. This was facilitated by a bequest of R1million that the organization received early in this year.
2024: Significantly, prominent local medical doctors authored an editorial in the South African Medical Journal (SAMJ, February 2024, Vol. 114, No. 2) expressing support for DignitySA's court challenge and arguing that medically assisted dying, when responsibly practised, aligns with medical ethics.
2024: A further donation of another R1 million made it possible for DignitySA to continue their legal process and make necessary adjustments to their legal team.
2025: At their Annual General Meeting in February, an extension of the organisation’s mandate was ratified that formally encompasses advocating for access to a range of end-of-life options including high-quality palliative care, the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and ensuring a sound legal basis for advance directives as well as the legalisation of assisted dying in South Africa.
2025: An additional R2,6 million in funding was, enabling Dignity SA to prepare to lodge its case, attend and avail poster presentations at the national Palliative Care Conference in June and to help to launch a collaborative Advance Directives Campaign.
2025: DignitySA changed its legal structure from being registered as a voluntary association to a non-profit company (NPC).
Ongoing: The organisation continues to provide expert input to parliamentary committees, contribute to public-policy discussions, and support individuals and families navigating end-of-life decisions.