Mourning: Constitutional lawyer Dániel Karsai passes away at 47, after advocating for end-of-life decisions

Dániel Karsai, a Hungarian constitutional lawyer, passed away at the age of 47 after battling ALS for three years. His name became widely known in Hungary when he appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, seeking the right to euthanasia so he could end his life with dignity.

Dániel Karsai passes away at 47

The news of his passing was shared by his brother on social media late on Saturday evening.

“Dani passed away this evening. For over three years, he fought bravely and with dignity against an unbeatable foe, ALS.
You’ll always be with me, with us, Bro.
Love you!” – wrote Karsai’s brother, Péter.

Dániel Karsai was born in Budapest on 28 March 1977. He attended Berzsenyi Dániel High School and later graduated from the Faculty of Law at ELTE University in 2001, becoming a lawyer and constitutional expert, 24.hu writes.

In July 2021, he noticed something was wrong, and in August 2022, he was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis),

a terminal illness that progressively weakens the body as motor neurons in the central nervous system deteriorate, all while the mind remains fully conscious.

Karsai’s battle with ASL and the court

Dániel Karsai did not wish to live in such a state, so he turned to the Strasbourg court to seek the right to euthanasia. However, in June 2024, the court rejected his plea, prompting him to appeal to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights.

“I still go to the office a few times a week, not just to check if the walls are still standing, but to work. But this disease will eventually reach a stage where that won’t be possible anymore—the stage of complete paralysis. No movement, no ability to communicate—that’s when I don’t think I can call it a meaningful life anymore. For that stage, I want to retain my right to decide, or rather, I want to gain it. To decide at some point to stop if I feel it’s time. I can’t say now whether that will be in one year or twenty, but when I reach that stage, I’ll know. And if I feel that there’s still value in life, I won’t end it just to prove something to the outside world. I don’t want to please anyone—I want to live my life my way. But the Hungarian state currently doesn’t provide that right, and that needs to change,” Dániel Karsai explained in an interview with Népszava in October 2023.

Karsai’s last public statement

In his last public statement, Dániel Karsai declared that he did not wish to be a servant to Putin or to suffering.

His final public comment was in response to remarks made by Balázs Orbán, the prime minister’s political director, regarding the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and Ukraine. Orbán had said that Ukrainian President Zelensky had led his country into a war of defense, resulting in the loss of territory and lives, and implied that Hungary would not have taken the same course, considering it irresponsible.

In a post on Friday, Karsai responded by writing:

“I would like to remind Mr. Orbán that a cowardly people have no homeland. We may have lost our revolutions, but those were moments to be proud of—we stood up for noble ideals like freedom. And it’s better to die free than to live as a servant.”

The terminally ill constitutional lawyer drew a parallel between this struggle and his own fight for the right to make end-of-life decisions and the legalisation of euthanasia:

“I don’t want to be a servant to Putin or to suffering. If pain consumes everything, I want to leave with dignity, head held high, staring fate in the face.”

Rest in peace, Dániel Karsai.