The federal government was justified in asking the Supreme Court of Canada for more time to produce a new law on doctor-assisted death. This is an issue with tremendous moral and philosophical ramifications; rushing it through Parliament would be a mistake.
The government asked for six months; the high court gave it four. The delay is welcome, but that’s still a small time frame in which to craft one of the most important pieces of legislation in Canadian history. This is a fundamental shift that will make it legal for one person to help end another person’s life. It’s an issue that deeply divides Canadians, and addressing this issue requires a measured, thoughtful approach.
On Feb. 6, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that Canadian adults who suffer grievous, unending pain have a right to end their life with a doctor’s help. The court suspended its decision for a year to give Parliament time to craft new laws concerning assisted dying. The Conservative government under Stephen Harper began working on the issue, but not with great enthusiasm.
And now it’s up to Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government to take the lead, but the new government has a lot on its plate, hence the justifiable request to the court for a deadline extension.
The issue is deeply rooted in B.C. The Right to Die Society was founded in Victoria in 1991 to guide people seeking help in dying and to lobby for the legalization of assisted suicide.
In 1992, Sue Rodriguez, a Victoria woman who suffered from ALS, began her fight for the right to a doctor-assisted death. The Supreme Court of Canada, in a 5-4 decision, dismissed her appeal in 1993, expressing concerns about the potential for abuse and the difficulty of creating adequate safeguards.
A few months later, with the assistance of an unknown doctor, Rodriguez died in her home.
In 2011, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association began a legal battle on behalf of two B.C. women, Gloria Taylor and Kay Carter, who both suffered from painful, debilitating diseases. In 2012, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lynn Smith declared Canada’s laws against physician-assisted suicide unconstitutional because they discriminate against physically disabled people. It is legal for able-bodied people to end their own lives, Smith reasoned; therefore, disabled people should have that same right.
The federal government appealed that ruling, and in 2013, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the law against assisted suicide, and the association appealed.
That was one of the cases before the Supreme Court of Canada in 2015 when it unanimously overturned the ban on doctor-assisted suicide and gave the government a year to conform to that ruling.
While many welcome the legalization of assisted suicide, many regard it with deep aversion for personal, religious or philosophical reasons. The government needs to take all perspectives into consideration as it crafts laws and creates safeguards to ensure the process is not abused. Physicians and other health-care professionals should not be compelled to participate if they choose not to.
Included in the discussion should be palliative care, a long-neglected component of our health-care system.
“Certainly, in any conversations we are having now on physician-assisted dying, it is absolutely essential that quality palliative care be available to patients and be seen as one of the options available to them,” said Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Cindy Forbes in an interview last month.
Although the Liberals have a majority in Parliament, they should not ramrod this legislation through. This is a massive societal shift for Canada — all parties should be consulted respectfully and thoughtfully; partisan politics should be set aside. Hastily contrived laws will serve no one well.
