The Supreme Court of Canada overturned a ban on physician-assisted suicide today, unanimously reversing a decision it made in 1993 and putting Canada in the company of a handful of Western countries where the practice will be legal.
The top court said it would be allowed in the case of consenting adults who are suffering intolerably from a severe and incurable medical condition, whether physical or psychological, and the illness does not have to be terminal. The decision takes effect in 12 months.
"We do not agree that the existential formulation of the right to life requires an absolute prohibition on assistance in dying, or that individuals cannot 'waive' their right to life," the court said.
Today's decision related to the case of two women with debilitating illnesses who have since died.
The family of a second woman, Kay Carter, who traveled to Switzerland to end her life, was also a plaintiff. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, along with a handful of other European countries and a few US states.
The Court majority was a narrow 5-4 in the 1993 decision. The sole judge left on the court from that time is Beverley McLachlin, now chief justice, and she was in the dissent last time.
"Physician-assisted dying is now recognized for what it is: a medical service that brings an end, for some individuals, to unbearable suffering."
Parliament has previously rejected several attempts to legalize physician-assisted suicide through bills brought by its members.
Others, such as quadriplegic Conservative Member of Parliament Steven Fletcher, argued that they should have the choice.
"We want to make sure that we move forward quickly, but thoughtfully, and the Supreme Court has really given us a clear path."
Since 1993 pressure for assisted suicide has persisted. Last year the Quebec government introduced a bill to legalize it, arguing this was a matter of healthcare under provincial jurisdiction, not a criminal matter in the federal bailiwick.
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