(CNN) — Former US President Jimmy Carter will begin receiving palliative care, according to a statement from the Carter Center released this Saturday.
“After a series of brief hospital stays, former US President Jimmy Carter decided today to spend whatever time he has left at home with his family and receive palliative care rather than further medical intervention. He has the full support of his family and his medical team,” the statement said.
Carter, who turned 98 last year, became the oldest living US president in history after the death of George HW Bush, who died in late 2018 at age 94. The nation’s 39th president has kept a low public profile in recent years due to the coronavirus pandemic, but has continued to speak out about the risks to democracy around the world, a longtime cause of his.
Carter beat brain cancer in 2015, but faced a series of health problems in 2019 and consequently underwent surgery to remove the pressure on his brain. His failing health forced him to give up his decades-long tradition of teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
A peanut farmer and lieutenant in the US Navy before entering politics, Carter, a Democrat, eventually served one term as governor of Georgia and was president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter chat with Paul Healy, right, of the New York Daily News, and Lawrence O’Rourke, left, of the Philadelphia Bulletin, as they arrive for dinner in 1977. Healy was the new president of the White House Correspondents Association, and O’Rourke was its outgoing president.John Duricka/AP
The former president is widely revered for his defense of human rights. His brokering of the 1978 Camp David Accords with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin remains central to his legacy.
In his post-presidency years, Carter founded The Carter Center with his wife, Rosalynn, in hopes of promoting world peace and health. The center has worked to promote democracy by monitoring elections abroad and reducing disease in developing countries over the years.
Carter himself has been a long-time volunteer with Habitat for Humanity.
He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to promote peace around the world.
Joe Biden in close contact with the Carter family
President Joe Biden was briefed on former President Jimmy Carter’s deteriorating health and his decision to seek hospice care, an official told CNN, and he remains in close contact with the Carter family and their close circle of advisers.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden met with former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter at the Carters’ home in Plains, Georgia (Credit: Adam Schultz / The White House)
The Bidens traveled to Georgia to visit the Carters in 2021, on the 100th day of the Biden presidency, and have long been Carter fans.
