Right To Die: Canada’s Supreme Court Unanimously Strikes Down Ban On Doctor Assisted Suicide

The Supreme Court of Canada this morning unanimously struck down the ban on doctor assisted suicide to mentally competent but suffering and "irremediable" patients.  The historic, ground-breaking decision sweeps away the existing law and gives Parliament a year to draft new legislation that recognizes the right of clearly consenting adults who are enduring intolerable suffering -- physical or mental -- to seek medical help ending their lives.

This ruling also does not limit physician-assisted death to those suffering a terminal illness.The court called the law against assisted suicide cruel and said that, far from protecting the vulnerable, it harms those who suffer terribly and unchangingly.  It began Friday’s momentous ruling:

“It is a crime in Canada to assist another person in ending her own life. As a result, people who are grievously and irremediably ill cannot seek a physician’s assistance in dying and may be condemned to a life of severe and intolerable suffering. A person facing this prospect has two options: she can take her own life prematurely, often by violent or dangerous means, or she can suffer until she dies from natural causes. The choice is cruel.”

Friday's decision was spurred by the families of two now-deceased British Columbia women, supported by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.  The court also ordered a major change to the rules around who pays the costs of litigants in cases of broad public importance. It said the governments involved should pay the full costs. In this case, that is likely to amount to more than $1-million for Canadian taxpayers, and a smaller portion to British Columbia.

How Canadians feel about doctor assisted suicide

This ruling wasn’t quite what I was expecting to read when I first turned on my computer this morning and saw the news but, in reality, it’s been a long time coming.  There have been several high-profile cases in Canada over the past few years that have brought this matter to the attention of not only the courts but the public as well. As recent polls have indicated, most Canadians agree with and support the idea of doctor assisted suicide. As for me, I’m o.k. with it.

Canada’s Supreme Court has been pretty busy this past year as just 12 months ago they unanimously struck down laws against prostitution.

Thanks for visiting!