On Saturday, Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, was moved into hospice care. “After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” a Carter Center statement said on Saturday.
He served as president from 1977 to 1981, turning 98 in October. A number of health challenges have plagued the longest-living former president in recent years, including cancer, broken hips, and hospitalizations for a fractured pelvis and urinary tract infection.
In 1976, he defeated incumbent Gerald Ford after growing up in rural Georgia and serving as governor. Although the one-term Democratic president left the Oval office with poor approval ratings, he has dedicated the last several decades of his life to public service, including his work with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center.
In recent years, Carter has occasionally spoken out on political issues. He called on now-Governor Brian Kemp to resign as secretary of state while Kemp was running for governor in 2018. As of 2019, Carter saw Trump as an illegitimate president. He also spoke out in support of Joe Biden during the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
During a rare public appearance in Plains, Ga., in August, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, are also the longest married couple in presidential history.
Carter’s family requests privacy during this time and thanks his many admirers for their concern,” the Carter Center stated.
