1. AND THE SUE RODRIGUEZ and
Euthanasia
AND THE SUE RODRIGUEZ and
CARTER CASES
IN CANADA
Thanks to my “Issues in Bioethics” W09 students for this presentation. It has been slightly altered by teacher.
Winter 2018

2. the Sue Rodriguez Case:
euthanasia vs.
assisted suicide
Euthanasia: “Good Death” (Greek), also “the intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who dies." (2).
•passive: ceasing medical intervention sustaining a person’s life, thus resulting in death. (ex: removal of life support or ending medical procedures.)
•active: specific steps taken to end a person’s life. (ex: lethal injection)

3. the Sue Rodriguez Case:
euthanasia vs.
assisted suicide
Assisted Suicide (a.k.a: Physician Assisted Suicide):
• When information and/or means of terminating the patient’s life are provided by a physician upon request, allowing the individual to commit suicide at will. (ex: provision of a lethal dose of sleeping pills, CO2 gas.)

4. Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
Assisted suicide was a criminal act in Canada (punishable by up to 14 years in prison) according to section 241 of the Criminal Code.
Most other countries have similar prohibitions
The state of Oregon in the United States, and the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland are exceptions. (3)

5. the Sue Rodriguez Case Sue Rodriguez:
• diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in (progressive, neurodegenerative disease - causes weakening of muscles and eventual atrophy (wasting away) of body parts.
• advocate of the legal right to assisted suicide and “dying with dignity”. 1.

6. the Sue Rodriguez Case
•Went before the Supreme Court of Canada twice to fight for her cause: the legal right to assisted suicide.
• progression of physical disability and deterioration until death in (3 years after diagnosis.)
Image from the film “At the End of the Day”.

7. the Sue Rodriguez Case
“I want to ask you gentlemen, if I cannot give consent to my own death, then whose body is this? Who owns my life?”
-Sue Rodriguez (in presentation to House of Common’s subcommittee, Nov 1992).

8. the Sue Rodriguez Case Arguments by Rodriguez:
• People who wish to die but are not disabled can do so.
But people who wish to die, yet are physically incapable of committing suicide themselves, are prohibited from obtaining assistance of a doctor to do so.
They should be legally allowed to do so otherwise this would be discrimination.
Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms says that everyone has the right to “life, liberty and security of the person”
•If denied assisted suicide, Rodriguez argued, her rights of personal liberty and autonomy under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms would be violated.

9. the Sue Rodriguez Case Court’s decision:
• there is no Canadian “legal right to die”, and therefore, denying Sue Rodriguez the legal right to assisted suicide does not violate her Charter rights.
• emphasis upon the importance of society’s commitment to the preservation of human life:
“Her illness may restrict the ability to implement her decisions (to commit suicide) but in my opinion, that does not amount to an infringement of a right to life, liberty or security of the person by the state.”-Justice Melvin.

10. The Sue Rodriguez Case
• emphasis upon the protection of the vulnerable:
“Section 241[which denies assisted suicide] protects the innocent, the mentally incompetent and the depressed,”
-Justice Allen Melvin.
Dec. 30, 1992:
The B.C Supreme Court voted 5-4 against Rodriguez’s case.
•closely divided vote viewed as representative of Canadian society’s divided opinion and the ambiguity surrounding the moralistic implications in the practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

11. The Gloria Taylor and Kay Carter Case
The issue of euthanasia’s legality was not settled by the Sue Rodriguez Case.
In 2015 a similar case was brought before the Supreme Court by Gloria Taylor and Kay Carter, both of whom were also suffering from degenerative diseases and fought for the right to terminate their own lives. .

12. The Gloria Taylor and Kay Carter Case
Kay Carter travelled to a clinic in Switzerland to receive assisted suicide before the SC verdict.
Gloria Taylor died before the SC verdict.

13. The Gloria Taylor and Kay Carter Case
The SC 2015 verdict reversed the earlier Rodriguez decision and now accepted that banning assisted suicide in specific cases was against the Charter.
They gave the government a year to change the laws and allow for doctor assisted suicide or “medical aid in dying”.

14. “Lee Carter and husband Hollis Johnson react to the ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada that was initiated by her mother, Kay Carter, who suffered from a degenerative disease and went to Switzerland to end her life.” (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

15. Bill C-14 The Medical Aid in Dying Law
In November 2015, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government took power in Canada and after some delays began to change the laws to allow for doctor assisted suicide or “medical aid in dying”.

16. Bill C-14 The Medical Aid in Dying Law
The new law faced numerous delays and problems, including:
Controversy over whether only those with “terminal illness” should qualify.
Controversy over whether only those with physical suffering should qualify or whether mental suffering should also be included.
Bill C-14 became law in June 2016

17. Bill C-14 and the Quebec MAID law
At the same time, the SC ruling, Trudeau’s election and passing of Bill C-14, facilitated the implementation of Quebec’s own Medical Aid in Dying Law, Bill 52 called “An Act Respecting End of life Care”
The Quebec law was passed two years earlier in June 2014 under the government of Premiere Philippe Couillard.

18. Works Cited
“Sue Rodriguez fought the law prohibiting assisted suicide all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, but lost. (Canadian Press)” No date. Online Image. Cbcnews.ca 18 February <
No artist. No Date. Online Image. <
3. Robinson, B.A. “EUTHANASIA AND PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE: INTRODUCTION” Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
<
4. “Assisted Suicide vs Euthanasia: the Right to Die” Associated Content: Health and Wellness. 11 April <
Video: “B.C Court Refuses Rodriguez’s Plea”
Laura Payton, “Supreme Court says yes to doctor-assisted suicide in specific cases Rodriguez decision ruled against giving terminally ill the right to die. CBC News, February 6, 2015