Physician-assisted suicide a right, says Canadian Supreme Court

(Vatican Radio) In a unanimous decision rendered on Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada has overturned the country’s ban on physician-assisted suicide, saying the legal prohibition limited a person’s constitutional right to life, liberty and personal security.

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The country’s top court said adults, capable of consent, who suffer from grievous and irremediable medical conditions, such as illness, disease or disability, and which cause the person “severe and intolerable suffering” have the right to physician-assisted suicide. The illness could be physical or psychological; it would have to be permanent, but not necessarily terminal.

The Supreme Court has suspended the application of its decision for 12 months, time for the Canadian government to draft new legislation and implement a regulatory framework.

“This is a real terrible decision,” said Alex Schadenberg, the executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

“The fact of it is the Supreme Court has really opened the door wide to psychological conditions, depression, all these other cases that we hear of, this horrible abuse that we hear going on in the Netherlands and Belgium and Switzerland,” he said. “These are the cases they’ve also opened the door to (in Canada).”

Schadenberg noted there is no appeal possible in the decision, but the government has options and may not have to take the Supreme Court’s decision to the letter.

“Parliament could craft a law that would  be very tight,” he said. “Parliament could also use the notwithstanding clause… That’s the clause in our Canadian Constitution that allows Parliament to override the Supreme Court. They could do so. It would only grant them five-years grace time though in order to change either the culture or to come down with a law that is very protective of Canadians.”

In a statement, Justice Minister Peter MacKay said the government will study the Supreme Court decision but gave no indication on whether it would oppose it.

“This is a sensitive issue for many Canadians, with deeply held beliefs on both sides,” said MacKay. “We will study the decision and ensure all perspectives on this difficult issue are heard.”

Schadenberg also warned that the legalization of physician-assisted suicide raises the issue of a doctor’s freedom of conscience, as well as the issue of trust between Canadians and their health care providers.

“Right now there’s also a battle going on about the conscience rights of physicians,” he explained. “There’s a big push going on to force doctors to provide treatments even if they morally disagree with them. So now this is going to come into play with this question (of physician-assisted suicide). So, if doctors lose their right of conscience and this becomes fully legal in every way, you’ll have a situation where you can’t feel safe to go to your physician.”