９９歳カーター元米大統領、在宅ホスピスケア１年

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】ジミー・カーター元米大統領は１８日、在宅ホスピスケア（終末治療）を受け始めてから１年を迎えた。カーター氏はこの間に９９歳の誕生日を迎え、７７年連れ添ったロザリン夫人を亡くした。（写真はロザリン夫人の葬儀に参列したジミー・カーター元米大統領。ジョージア州プレーンズのマラナサ・バプティスト教会で）
　カーター氏は昨年、病院での積極的な延命治療は行わず、南部ジョージア州プレーンズの自宅で余生を過ごすことを決めた。
　ＮＧＯカーター・センターは米メディアへの声明で「ホスピスケアに入ってから１年、カーター元大統領は家族と共に自宅で過ごしている」「カーター家はこの１年間に多くの愛情表現を受け、プライバシーを尊重され続けたことを感謝している」と述べた。
　家族としてもカーター氏の決断について、全米の多くの家庭がこの重要な問題について議論するためのきっかけづくりになったことを喜んでいるという。
　ノーベル平和賞受賞者でもあるカーター氏は、存命の米大統領経験者の中で最高齢。ロザリン夫人との結婚期間も、ジョージ・Ｈ・Ｗ・ブッシュ元大統領とバーバラ夫人の７３年を上回り、歴代の米大統領夫妻の中で最長となっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/02/19-18:03）

Jimmy Carter marks a full year in hospice care Sunday, a period in which the former US president defied the odds, celebrated his 99th birthday and mourned the death of his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn.
One year after entering hospice care, president Carter continues to be at home with his family, the Carter Center said in a statement to US media, noting the anniversary of his decision to decline further hospital treatment for various health issues and live out his days at home in Plains, Georgia.
The Carter family is grateful for the many expressions of love they have received and the continued respect for their privacy during this time, the family said, according to his non-profit foundation.
The family is pleased that his decision last year to enter hospice care has sparked so many family discussions across the country on an important subject.
Carter, a Nobel peace laureate, champion of charitable causes and a former peanut farmer, is the longest living president in US history. The Carters' marriage is longer than that of any other president, eclipsing the 73 years of George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara.
Having already beaten brain cancer in his 90s, and suffering other ailments that required hospitalization, Carter was thought to be in his waning days in February 2023 when the Carter Center announced he would spend his remaining time in hospice, at home with family.
But Carter has persevered. His last public appearance was in November 2023 at Rosalynn Carter's funeral. The former first lady passed away at age 96, only days after entering hospice care.
When he first went into hospice... we thought he had a matter of days, said grandson Jason Carter, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
That's what the doctors were saying. But one way to think about it is God wasn't done with him yet.
Carter served one term as president after being elected in 1976 on the heels of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. His presidency included successes like the Camp David peace accords, but also controversies such as the Iran hostage crisis.
He dedicated his time in retirement to humanitarian affairs and founded the Carter Center, which promotes human rights and conflict resolution.