British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) Archives

Assisted-death lawsuit adjourned, government evidence widens eligibility: lawyer

More Canadians eligible for assisted death: lawyer

The Chronicle Journal

Laura Kane

VANCOUVER – The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and a woman with a degenerative illness have adjourned their lawsuit challenging the federal assisted-dying law after they say government evidence expanded eligibility for the procedure.

The law says that only people who have a “reasonably foreseeable” natural death qualify, but a government expert has filed a report that states some doctors are now interpreting this category to include people who refuse care that would prolong their lives. . . [Full text]

Quebec court hands down ‘robust rejection’ of assisted dying criteria. Here’s what to know

Global News

Maham Abedi

Medically-assisted dying became a discussion point on the second day of the 2019 federal election trail, as leaders reacted to a ruling by the Quebec Superior Court that part of the country’s law is “unconstitutional.”

On Wednesday, a Quebec judge ruled that both the province’s and country’s laws on assisted dying were too restrictive and therefore discriminated against some who sought the procedure. . . [Full text]

Ontario hospitals allowed to opt out of assisted dying, raising conscientious accommodation concerns

National Post

Sharon Kirkey

Ontario will allow hospitals to opt out of providing assisted death within their walls, provoking charges from ethicists that conscientious accommodation has gone too far.

Elsewhere in the country, a divide is already shaping up, with half of voluntary euthanasia cases in Quebec reportedly occurring in Quebec City hospitals — and few in Montreal.

The situation highlights the messy state of the emotionally charged debate as the provinces wrestle with the new reality of doctor-assisted death, and as the Senate takes a proposed new law further than the governing Liberals are prepared to go. . . [Full Text]

Religious care homes refusing patients the right to die

CTV News

Kendra Mangione

The right to die isn’t guaranteed in Canada yet, but the issue is already causing arguments in B.C.

The federal government’s controversial bill on assisted dying was passed in the House of Commons on Tuesday, and will now face the criticism of the Canadian Senate.

Bill C-14 outlines eligibility for assisted dying, limiting the option to consenting adults suffering from serious and incurable diseases and disabilities.

The bill followed a Supreme Court ruling last year that adults should have the right to seek medical help to end their lives if their suffering is intolerable. Under the Supreme Court ruling, a federal ban on assisted dying will be formally lifted on June 6.

Less than a week before the ban is lifted, the right to die is already causing conflicts in B.C.

The owners of some religion-based care homes have already decided they will not permit residents to decide when to end their lives, if it goes against their religion. . . [Full Text]

Christian elderly care provider in Canada refuses to provide ‘medical aid in dying’

The Christian Times

CB Condez

Baptist Housing, a Christian senior care provider in Brtiish Columbia, Canada, will not provide physician-assisted death in its facilities, which has disappointed some people who are for allowing terminally ill patients to have the option to end their lives.

“We feel that as a faith organization we would want to exercise our conscience in terms of that,” said CEO Howard Johnson, as quoted by CBC News. “We do believe that there is sanctity in life.”

Grace Pastine, litigation director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Union, said that the housing’s stance is unconstitutional since assisted suicide is legal in Canada and it is “a constitutional right for critically ill Canadians.” . . . [Full Text]