Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has celebrated his 85th birthday on the day he revealed that he wanted the option of an assisted death.<br /><br /> The veteran anti-apartheid campaigner and former Nobel Peace Prize winner had already ended his opposition to assisted dying two years ago. <br /><br /> On Friday he told the Washington Post he wanted to exercise the right himself, “when my time comes”.<br /><br /> “I have been fortunate to have long spent my time working for dignity for the living. Now, with my life closer to its end than its beginning, I wish to help give people dignity in dying,” he wrote.<br /><br /> Archbishop Tutu performed mass in Cape Town on Friday, and was surprised as the choir sang “Happy Birthday”. He often used the pulpit to criticise white-minority rule which ended in 1994.<br /><br /> The Anglican church of which he’s a member is firmly against assisted dying.<br /><br /> Tutu has been living with prostate cancer for nearly 20 years and was recently hospitalised with an infection.<br /><br /> The former archbishop of Cape Town chaired the commission that investigated atrocities under apartheid and has long campaigned for human rights such as fighting against HIV/Aids, racism, sexism and homophobia. <br /><br /> Earlier this year he blessed his daughter’s marriage with her female partner, even though South African Anglican law does not endorse same-sex marriage.<br />
