CANADA'S SUPREME COURT AND ASSISTED SUICIDE

Tomorrow (October 15th) Canada's Supreme Court is expected to

deliberate on the Kay Carter case with respect to assisted suicide.[1] In anticipation of this momentous decision that may change the character  of how Canadians with incurable conditions serious disabilities are treated, Canada's Euthanasia Prevention commented:

"The Supreme Court is hearing the euthanasia case from British Columbia on October 15.This case is based on the June 2012 decision by Justice Smith in the Carter case. Smith decided that Canada's law protecting people from assisted suicide was unconstitutional because it denied equality for people who are physically incapacitated of killing themselves. Smith also decided that Canada needed to legalize euthanasia for similar cases."

"Smith was wrong. There is no right to suicide and Canada's laws were designed to equally protect all Canadians from euthanasia and assisted suicide." [2]

Indeed there is no right to suicide in Canada. In fact in October 2012, Canada's Parliament gave UNANIMOUS support to the idea of a National Suicide Prevention Strategy. It should be noted that the Liberal Party later went back on that support by supporting a party resolution stating they would change the law to legalize assisted suicide for the sick and disabled. We are left to conclude that a Liberal government would still provide the healthy population of Canada the benefit of suicide prevention counselling and care. 

So what will Canada's Supreme Court decide in the Carter case?

Although I hope I'm wrong, I'm not hopeful. The Supreme Court of Canada has a long history of morally corrupt decisions when it comes to fundamental human dignity dating back over a 100 years. Until 1929, the Supreme Court of Canada held that women were not legal persons. In 1988 the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the abortion law leaving Canada's unborn children with no protection whatsoever. As one Canadian organization noted:

"Canada is the only Western nation without restrictions on when a woman can request and receive  an abortion. In fact, to the best of our knowledge we possess this dubious distinction with only one other country in the world: North Korea." [3] 

Canada's Supreme Court consistently maintains that personhood begins at birth despite the fact that biology proved long ago human life begins at conception. Canada's Supreme Court maintains its legal fiction in defiance of the principal of universal human rights. The word universal means everyone. It is my opinion that the Supreme Court of Canada, led by Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, is driven more by ideology that justice. And that's why I fear what they will decide about assisted suicide.

If Canada's Supreme Court decides in favour of assisted suicide, it will deny equality and protection of the law for Canada's incurably ill and severely disabled. It will remove the disabled from the embrace of universal human rights, of which the first a highest right is the right to life.[4] 

The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not declare a right to death. Death is an eventually that will visit us all, but to impose it is murder, isn't it? The immorality of suicide (assisted or otherwise) it does change regardless of what Beverley McLachlin and Canada's Supreme Court says. 

Does Canada believe in suicide prevention or assisted suicide? Do Canada's incurably ill and disabled deserve the same protections as the healthy population? I need to know! My equality depends on it. I am incurably ill and disabled. -- MDP

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Notes

[1] See http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/case-dossier/info/sum-som-eng.aspx?cas=35591
[2] See Canada's Euthanasia Prevention Coalition October 2014 Newsletter at http://www.epcc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/155-October-2014-RGB.pdf
[3] http://www.weneedalaw.ca/resources/international-law
[4] See the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/