Paul KeenanSwitzerland – The dissident theologian Hans Kung has revealed he is considering assisted suicide as he grows older. Now 85, Kung has argued in the final volume of his memoirs, Experienced Humanity, that people should have the right to voluntarily “surrender” their lives to God if life becomes unbearable through illness or pain.
“I do not want to live on as a shadow of myself,” the theologian argues in his newly published book. “I also don’t want to be sent off to a nursing home. If I have to decide myself, please abide by my wish.”
Suffering from Parkinson’s disease, Kung refers to the cases of Pope John Paul II and legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, both sufferers, as examples he did not wish to follow.
“No person is obligated to suffer the unbearable as something sent from God,” Kung argues, stating that assisted suicide is compatible with his beliefs.
