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British Columbia Court opens door to expanding euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada

Oct 19, 2017

By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Credit: Catholic Medical Quarterly

Only days after Canada legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide under the term “MAiD” [Medical Assistance in Dying], the BC Civil Liberties Association launched the first court case to expand Canada’s euthanasia law. (See “Canadian Senate passes euthanasia bill in time for summer break.”)

The Julia Lamb case concerns the fact that Canada’s MAiD legislation attempted to limit euthanasia to people with terminal conditions. The legislation states that a person qualifies for lethal injection when they have a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” and that their “natural death must be reasonably forseeable.” (Section 241.2(2)d)

In the Lamb case, the BC Civil Liberties Association is attempting to strike down the requirement that a person’s “natural death must be reasonably forseeable.”

Because the Supreme Court of Canada’s Carter decision did not indicate that a person who qualifies for euthanasia should be terminally ill, therefore Canada’s federal government is expected to prove that the terminal illness definition is a reasonable limit. (See “Supreme Court of Canada Carter decision is irresponsible and dangerous”)

Last Wednesday, “Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson of the British Columbia Supreme Court said the government should be given a second chance to argue the findings of fact that were used by the country’s top court to overturn a ban on assisted dying in 2015,” according to Geordon Omand, reporting for The Canadian Press. “‘The federal government’s legislation, which came into effect last year, needs to be assessed on ‘relevant, current evidence,’ Hinkson wrote. Barring the courts from considering the most up-to-date information would prevent a judge from being able to decide what evidence is important and how much weight it should be given, he added.”

Chief Justice Hinkson’s decision means the government, and intervenors, in a limited manner, can attempt to overcome some of problems with the Carter decision.

It is concerning that a June 2017 Ontario Court decision held that “To be reasonably foreseeable, the person’s natural death doesn’t have be imminent or within a specific time frame or be the result of a terminal condition.”

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities says the conversation around end-of-life practices ignores the point of view of disability rights advocates.

The organization created a campaign against euthanasia, Toujours Vivant-Not Dead Yet.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition will ask the court for intervention standing in this case.