Swiss doctors help SA woman end her life

Carol de Swardt (63), the former KZN woman who opted to have a physician-assisted death in Switzerland, where it is legal, died there on Wednesday as was scheduled.

The Witness was not able to get confirmation of this until yesterday afternoon, when Sean Davison, the founder and director of Dignity SA, which is lobbying for a change in SA law, said she had asked him to be her witness. A witness to physician-assisted deaths is required by Swiss law, he said.

“Carol had a peaceful and dignified death — something she had wanted for a long time,” Davison said in an email from Switzerland.

The Witness yesterday reported De Swardt had suffered debilitating pain and became an amputee following skin cancer treatment involving excessive doses of radiation at Grey’s Hospital.

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