Former US President Jimmy Carter enters hospice - Dispatch Weekly

Jimmy Carter’s foundation said on Saturday that the former US President has ceased medical treatment and has entered hospice care at his Georgia home​.

“He will spend his remaining time at home with his family,” the Carter Center said, but did not explain why.

Mr. Carter, 98, has liver and brain melanoma.

He was the nation’s president from 1977 to 1981.

Mr. Carter lost his re-election attempt to Ronald Reagan due to foreign policy issues.

“The Carter family requests privacy and thanks his many supporters for their concern,” the Carter Center said.

Hospice care is an option for terminally sick individuals where comforting a dying patient takes precedence over treatment.

Former Georgia state lawmaker Jason Carter tweeted that he saw “both of my grandparents yesterday.”

“Their house is always full with love and harmony,” he said.

Mr. Carter and wife Rosalynn celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in 2021.

Mr. Carter, born in 1924 in Georgia, became a state senator in the 1960s before becoming governor in 1971.

He defeated Gerald Ford five years later to become the 39th president.

President Carter faced many issues while in office.

He tried to convince Americans to accept austerity amid high inflation and unemployment due to an oil crisis.

The 1978 Camp David Accords, in which Egypt recognised Israel, were Carter’s crowning achievement. He also signed a contract giving Panama control of the Panama Canal.

After the 1979 Iranian revolution, 66 Americans were kidnapped in Tehran. Mr. Carter imposed a trade embargo and severed diplomatic relations with the Middle Eastern country.

After 444 days of holding US prisoners, his popularity plummeted. After a failed hostage rescue and eight US military deaths, his ratings dropped further.

Iran held the hostages until Reagan became president.

After leaving office, Mr. Carter continued humanitarian work with his Carter Center.

He led a group to urge Haitian military commanders to step down in 1994 and arranged a Bosnian ceasefire that paved the path for a peace accord.

He won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his human rights advocacy.

He and Nelson Mandela formed The Elders, a collection of world leaders committed to peace and human rights.

The former president had many health concerns and had a liver tumour removed in August 2015.

He announced the following year that an experimental medicine had cured his cancer.

“I’m fine with whatever comes along,” he declared in 2015. “My life was fascinating, adventurous and satisfying.”

Mr. Carter celebrated his most recent birthday in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife were born between the First World War and the Great Depression.

On Saturday night, major American lawmakers like Democratic Senate leader Charles Schumer, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock sent their condolences to Mr. Carter’s family.

“God is clearly walking with him,” Senator Warnock tweeted. “He, Rosalynn, and the Carter family are in our thoughts and prayers.”