“It should be considered as much of a crime to make someone live, who with justification does not wish to continue, as it is to take a life without consent.” -Faye Girsh, EdD, Senior Adviser at the Final Exit Network, in a 2001 Free Inquiry article, “How Shall We Die” -

Questions to consider… Does the Government have the right to decide how and when you die? Should doctors and family members be legally permitted to decide the fate of a patient who has no hope of recovery? Should a person be forced to face an agonizing death without dignity? Should the law regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide be changed?

What is the difference between assisted suicide and euthanasia? Assisted suicide occurs when a person intentionally kills him/herself with the help of another individual. For example, a doctor who prescribes a lethal dose of medication that is later taken by a patient to end his/her life is assisting in that person’s suicide. Assisted suicide differs from euthanasia, in which someone other than the patient ends the patient's life as painlessly as possible. Euthanasia may be active, such as when a doctor gives a lethal injection to a patient. It can also be passive, in cases where a physician doesn't resuscitate a patient whose heart has stopped.

A battle in B.C. between the provincial and federal governments was sparked by right-to-die activist Gloria Taylor, who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and died Oct. 4, That battle has now made its way to the Supreme Court of Canada, which said in January 2014 that it would hear an appeal from the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, seeking to overturn the legal ban on doctor-assisted dying. suicide-ban-struck-down-by-b-c-court

According to a 2012 Angus Reid poll, 80 per cent of Canadians support allowing a doctor to assist terminally ill patients to end their lives. Non-profit clinic Dignitas in Switzerland recently released figures showing a fourfold increase in “suicide tourism,” including 12 Canadians who travelled to the clinic between to end their lives. On Aug. 19, 2014 the Canadian Medical Association announced it was “softening” its stand against euthanasia and doctor-assisted death and advising its members to work within legislative guidelines but “follow their conscience when deciding whether to provide medical aid in dying.” Under Quebec's recently passed Bill 52, a doctor who receives the repeated consent of a patient could administer medication to cause death. The patient must be a Quebec resident with a valid provincial medicare card.

Canadian Criminal Code Section 14 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 7 and Section 15

Canadian Criminal Code Section 14 of the Code provides that: No person is entitled to consent to have death inflicted on him, and such consent does not affect the criminal responsibility of any person by whom death may be inflicted on the person by whom consent is given. In the medical context, a doctor who, at a patient’s request, gives the patient a lethal injection would be criminally liable.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Life, liberty and security of person Section 7 Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law Section 15 Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

‘If I cannot give consent to my own death, who’s body is this? Who owns my life?’ - Sue Rodridguez ‘My body is literally caving in. Allow me the right to die with dignity.’ - Gloria Taylor ‘In my latter years, as my health deteriorated, I witnessed friends whose bodies had totally collapsed and I did not want to follow in their path.’ - Kay Carter ‘I am becoming a vegetable. Every day I lose bits of myself, and it’s obvious that I am heading towards the state that all dementia patients eventually get to: not knowing who I am and requiring full-time care. - Gillian Bennett

Assisted suicide: Where do Canada and other countries stand? and-other-countries-stand and-other-countries-stand

Arguments For Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia: It provides a way to relieve extreme pain It provides a way of relief when a person's quality of life is low Frees up medical funds to help other people It is another case of freedom of choice

Arguments Against Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia: Euthanasia devalues human life Euthanasia can become a means of health care cost containment Physicians and other medical care people should not be involved in directly causing death There is a "slippery slope" effect that has occurred where euthanasia has been first been legalized for only the terminally ill and later laws are changed to allow it for other people or to be done non-voluntarily.

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