Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition addressed three groups in northern Ontario. A talk with Alex Schadenberg organized by a Northern Ontario pro-life group was given positive coverage in the local newspaper. Schadenberg, the executive director and international chair of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, spoke at the Encore Club in Kirkland Lake on Sept.19. The event was planned by [...]
Justice Lynn Smith The federal government has come out strongly against assisted suicide in an appeal against a British Columbia judgment declaring the ban to be unconstitutional. On Oct. 26, it filed its legal argument with the B.C. Court of Appeal, claiming that assisted suicide is prohibited in order to protect the most vulnerable members of society who might otherwise [...]
The long awaited 2010 nationwide examination of the euthanasia law in the Netherlands was published in the July 11 Lancet. The study found: the number of euthanasia deaths has grown significantly since 2005 (4050 in 2010, 2425 in 2005); the under-reporting of euthanasia in the Netherlands has grown since 2005 (23 per cent in 2010, 20 per cent in 2005); there is [...]
On June 15, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Lynn Smith said that the Criminal Code prohibitions on euthanasia and assisted suicide were unconstitutional, finding that they “unjustifiably infringe the equality rights” of one of plaintiffs in the case, Gloria Taylor, who has Lou Gehrig’s disease and wants assistance to end her own life. Justice Smith also said the prohibitions unjustifiably violate the [...]
The Select Committee on Dying with Dignity Committee, commissioned by the Quebec National Assembly to study euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, released it’s report, “Dying with Dignity,” on March 22. The committee called for the province to legalize euthanasia, suggesting modest restrictions that anti-euthanasia groups say do nothing to protect the vulnerable. Ignoring federal Criminal Code prohibitions on euthanasia and [...]
The Select Committee on Dying with Dignity Committee in Quebec released its report today recommending that Quebec ignore the federal law that protects all Canadians, by legalizing euthanasia according to the Belgian model. The report defies Parliament’s overwhelming defeat of a similar bill to legalize euthanasia by a margin of 228 to 59, after a full-debate and across party lines. The [...]
If you were incurably ill and facing impending death, would you want your medical team to continue with aggressive and painful medical treatments in the hope of a miracle cure? Or would you prefer to be placed in palliative care to help you through the inevitable dying process? Most people would opt for palliative care. However, sometimes, close family members of [...]
Radio Netherlands has reported that once again, euthanasia will be debated in late January in the Netherlands lower house. The euthanasia lobby is pushing for euthanasia to be prescribed for any and no reason. The push to expand the availability of euthanasia has been going on for a long-time. In 2006, I attended the World Federation of Right to Die Societies conference [...]
In defense of the pernicious proposition that all mentally competent Canadians should have a legal right to medical assistance in committing suicide, the “expert panel” of the Royal Society of Canada on end-of-life decision making contends, in its recent report, that: “Autonomy (or the capacity for self-determination) is a paramount value to Canadians. Respect for autonomy requires respect for competent individuals’ [...]
In November and December, the British Columbia Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case challenging the Criminal Code prohibition on euthanasia and assisted-suicide. Last April, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) brought forward a suit on behalf of the family of Kay Carter to challenge the constitutionality of provisions in Canada’s criminal code which protect people from euthanasia [...]
case. 1. Is it true that Canada has rejected assisted suicide and euthanasia? Yes. Just last year, Parliament defeated Bill C-384, which would have legalized physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada. The vote was 228 to 59. 2. What is the Carter Case? Carter vs. Attorney General of Canada is a constitutional challenge to Canada’s laws prohibiting physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Carter [...]
On Nov. 14, the B.C. Supreme Court began hearing arguments in Carter vs. Attorney General of Canada, challenging Canada’s laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide. The case, brought forth by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association on behalf of Lee Carter and four others, seeks to throw out Canada’s Criminal Code provisions against euthanasia and assisted suicide and have assisted death treated as [...]
A study of submissions to Quebec’s public hearings on euthanasia, the Special Commission on Dying with Dignity, shows clearly that Quebecers overwhelmingly opposed legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia. The independent analysis of the 427 oral presentations and written submissions to the commission was conducted by Vivre dans la Dignité (Living With Dignity), a grassroots anti-euthanasia group. The report found that only about [...]
In August, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Lynn Smith made two important decisions in cases challenging Canada’s laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide. On August 4, Smith fast-tracked the Carter/Taylor case and on August 17 she rejected a lawsuit filed by the Farewell Foundation for the Right to Die challenging Canadian laws against assisted suicide. The Carter/Taylor case will be heard Nov. [...]
On June 29, the Ontario Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the Rasouli decision by Susan Himel -– doctors have to obtain consent before withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. The three judge Ontario Court of Appeals panel stated: “We are of the view that the application judge reached the correct result in this case. In short, we are satisfied that the plan of care [...]