Written on 12 Dec, 2012 at 15:03 in
Assisted Suicide, Bioethics, Euthanasia | Author:
Pauline Kosalka 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 be coerced into ending their lives.
The purpose of the Criminal Code, ... (Continue reading)
Written on 4 Dec, 2012 at 9:23 in
Assisted Suicide | Author:
Interim Staff Massachusetts voters rejected assisted suicide in a ballot measure during the Nov. 6 American elections. It was defeated by a slim margin of 51 to 49 per cent. Earlier in the campaign, a September poll sponsored by the Boston Globe and conducted by the University of New Hampshire showed that 68 per cent of voters were in favour of legalization and only 19 per cent were opposed. “The turnaround on this campaign was remarkable,” said Tim Rosales, campaign strategist for ... (Continue reading)
Written on 29 Sep, 2012 at 12:20 in
Assisted Suicide | Author:
John-Henry Westen Special to The Interim In an August 10 ruling, Justice Jo-Ann Prowse of the British Columbia Court of Appeals, the highest court in the province, permitted ALS patient Gloria Taylor to retain a constitutional exemption allowing her to end her life by assisted suicide or euthanasia. Taylor was granted the exemption in June by Lynn Smith of the B.C. Supreme Court.
Prowse’s ruling also cancelled Smith’s order that the Parliament amend laws against assisted suicide by June 15, 2013. The appeal of Smith’s ruling with ... (Continue reading)
Written on 25 Aug, 2012 at 6:45 in
Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia | Author:
Alex Schadenberg Special to The Interim 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 a growth in deaths by terminal sedation (12.3 per cent in 2010, 8.2 per cent in 2005);
the percentage of requests for ... (Continue reading)
Written on 7 Aug, 2012 at 8:27 in
Announcements, Assisted Suicide, Features | Author:
Paul Tuns Waiting until the second-last business day to file, Canada’s federal government appealed the June 15 decision of B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lynn Smith overturning Canada’s ban on euthanasia and assisted suicide. Smith claimed that Canada’s Criminal Code prohibiting euthanasia and assisted suicide violated the Charter rights of those seeking assistance killing themselves and those who help them carry out their lethal wishes. The justice also argued the Criminal Code provisions violated ... (Continue reading)
Written on 24 May, 2009 at 16:44 in
Euthanasia | Author:
Hilary White Britain refusing to prosecute law-breaking euthanasia tourists
The founder of the Swiss euthanasia group Dignitas, Ludwig Minelli, said in a recent interview that he is seeking permission from the courts in Switzerland to assist in the suicide of a perfectly healthy woman. The woman is the wife of an unnamed and ill Canadian man who may seek suicide at the Dignitas facility; she has said that if her husband commits suicide, she would want to commit suicide at the ... (Continue reading)
Written on 28 May, 2008 at 11:59 in
Assisted Suicide | Author:
Alex Schadenberg An important study of family members of 83 Oregon patients who requested physician-assisted suicide (PAD) shows that people who are being prescribed assisted suicide may not be experiencing significant symptoms of their disease. This study effectively proves that people are being given lethal doses for assisted suicide without fulfilling the reasons within the law. Because the study was so effective, almost no major media outlets reported its findings.... (Continue reading)
Written on 19 Jul, 2007 at 11:23 in
Assisted Suicide | Author:
Euthanasia activist and convicted murderer Jack Kevorkian, 79, was released June 1 after serving eight years of his 10- to 25-year sentence for second-degree murder. Lawyer Mayer Morganroth argued his client’s health problems and good behaviour justified early release from prison. Kevorkian was charged and found guilty of the 1998 second-degree murder (by carbon monoxide poisoning) of Thomas Youk, 52, who had ALS. CBS’s 60 Minutes program subsequently ... (Continue reading)
Written on 28 May, 2007 at 8:58 in
Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia | Author:
Gudrun Schultz and John-Henry Westen Special to The Interim The Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops has released a statement clarifying the church’s position on euthanasia and assisted suicide. It is also calling on Catholics to question politicians about their stands on the issue.
“Catholics, like all other citizens, have the right and duty to participate in the political processes of our democracy,” the bishops state.... (Continue reading)
