Mopreme Shakur has spoken out about his mother Afeni’s decision to remove Tupac from life support in 1996. In a recent interview with The Art Of Dialogue, Mopreme said that even though it was a difficult one, he understood Afeni’s decision.
“He had already flatlined a couple of times, and she didn’t want him to keep going through that,” Mopreme said. “I think it was like twice before she let him go, and that’s reasonable. When i found out I could live with it more.”
Mopreme also said that Tupac wouldn’t have been the same if he had survived. “It hit him in his lungs… he wouldn’t have been the same, he wouldn’t have been happy.”
Afeni made the heart-wrenching decision to remove Tupac from life support on September 13, 1996, six days after he was shot in Las Vegas. He was 25 years old. Tupac had been in a coma since the shooting and had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the chest that punctured his lung. He had also lost a lot of blood. Doctors told Afeni that Tupac’s chances of survival were slim and that even if he did survive, he would likely have significant disabilities.
Afeni decided to pull the plug after consulting with Tupac’s doctors and other family members. She said that she knew her son would not have wanted to live as an invalid. She also said that she did not want him to suffer anymore.
Afeni’s decision, however, was not without its share of disagreements. Tupac’s biological father, Billy Garland, held a different viewpoint. Garland’s belief was that even a limited existence was better than none.
“To me, a little something is better than nothing and death is nothing. There’s nothing left after death, there’s no Tupac. So, I’d rather have a quarter, a half, a third of Tupac,” he said in a previous interview with The Art of Dialogue. “He still would’ve been Tupac. They say his heart stopped they brought him back. They said it stopped again, they brought him back. I would’ve made them work on that a hundred times. That’s just the way I am. I’m not questioning her [Afeni’s] judgment… If I had been there maybe we would’ve had a different discussion.”
In a different conversation, he added, “I don’t think it’s up to anybody to say ‘he won’t be himself. Let him go.’ I wasn’t at the hospital that time. I don’t think I would’ve said that… He might still have died, but I don’t think I would’ve said ‘let him go,’ there’s no f#####g way I would’ve said that. No f#####g way. I would’ve taken that motherf####r with half an arm, half a lung, he still would’ve been Tupac.”
Do you think Afeni was wrong for taking Pac off life support? Watch Mopreme’s interview below.
