Gloria Taylor is given the right to physician-assisted suicide but observers expect the federal Conservative government will challenge the ruling
A recent British Columbia court ruling has struck down the law that makes physician-assisted death illegal in Canada. The June 15, 2012 ruling [opens to PDF] found that the current law violates the constitutional rights of the three plaintiffs, including Gloria Taylor, who has Lou Gehrig’s disease. The landmark legal challenge was launched by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
The ruling has been portrayed as a victory for civil liberties and for the rights of the disabled across the country. But several commentators have predicted dire consequences if terminally ill people are permanently granted the right to end their lives—including a Catholic bishop, who is calling on the British Columbia government to appeal what he called a “flawed and dangerous ruling”.
Parliament has been given a year to deal with the implications of the ruling—and to make the law comply with Canada’s constitution. Political commentator Chantal Hébert wrote in the Toronto Star that the federal Conservatives will almost certainly appeal the ruling.
We speak with Russel Ogden, a sociologist at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and researcher into the issues associated with assisted suicide. (Postponed from an earlier date)
Image of Gloria Taylor by Phylicia Torrevillas/metronews.ca
