Friday 15 June 2012

Laws banning euthanasia deemed "unconstitutional"

I'd like to know what constitution they're reading.
VANCOUVER - A B.C. Supreme Court has ruled the laws banning doctor-assisted suicide are unconstitutional.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lynn Smith declared the laws invalid, but also suspended her ruling for one year to give Parliament time to draft legislation with her ruling in mind.
Smith also granted Gloria Taylor an exemption in her ruling, allowing the ailing West Kelowna, B.C., woman to seek a physician-assisted suicide during the period her ruling is suspended if she wants.
In a 395-page ruling, Smith says the provisions in the Charter of Rights unjustifiably infringe on Taylor's rights to life, liberty and security of persons.
She says the laws are discriminatory for those who are grievously ill or physically disabled who want to have some control over their circumstances at the end of their lives.
While Smith says risks exist to allowing doctor-assisted suicide, but they can be largely avoided through carefully-designed and well-monitored safeguards.
They are not discriminatory. A family member of mine was able to use assisted suicide, but she did not. Terminally ill with cancer, in pain, she never even thought of using such. She said she had no right to end her life, it wasn't her decision and it wasn't the doctor's decision either. It was God's.

Read the article here.

1 comment:

Pearl of Tyburn said...

Dido, Cameron, you're absolutely right. God grants life, and it is God's alone to take. Your relative was brave to choose to wait on God.

There's a really good quote involving a lingering death by Isaac Watts. I posted it on my blog in the post "Thoughts upon the image of death..."