Tag: Living with Dignity

Medical aid in dying: Court challenge

News Release

Living with Dignity, Physicians’ Alliance

MONTREAL, July 17, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ – As announced when Bill 52, An Act Respecting End-of-Life Care, was adopted, the citizen movement Living with Dignity (LWD) and the Physicians’ Alliance against Euthanasia (the Alliance), representing together over 650 physicians and 17,000 citizens, have today filed a lawsuit before the Superior Court of Quebec in the District of Montreal.

The lawsuit requests that the Court declare invalid all the provisions of An Act Respecting End-of-Life Care that deal with “medical aid in dying”, a euphemism used to describe euthanasia. This Act not only allows certain patients to demand that a physician provoke their death, but also grants physicians the right to cause the death of these patients by the administration of a lethal substance.

The Alliance and LWD are challenging the constitutionality of those provisions in the Act which are aimed at decriminalizing euthanasia under the euphemism “medical aid in dying”. Euthanasia constitutes a culpable homicide under the Criminal Code. It is a subject-matter which is at the core of the exclusive federal legislative power in relation to criminal law and Quebec therefore does not have the power to adopt these provisions.

In addition, the impugned provisions unjustifiably infringe the rights to life and to security of patients guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. They further infringe the right to the safeguard of the dignity of the person, which is also protected by the Quebec Charter.

In view of the gravity of the situation and the urgent need to protect all vulnerable persons in Quebec, the Alliance and LWD request an accelerated management of the case in order to obtain a judgement before the expected coming into force of the Act on December 10, 2015.

Sources: The citizen network Living with Dignity and the Physicians’ Alliance against euthanasia .

Hearings on Quebec Bill 52: Living with Dignity

 Nicolas Steenhout, Dr. Marc Beauchamp, Michel Racicot

Wednesday, 25 September 2013 – Vol. 43 N° 38

Note: The following translation is the  product of a first run through “Google translate.”  In most cases it is  sufficient to identify statements of interest, but more careful translation is  required to properly understand the text.

Original Text

Caution: machine assisted translation
11 h 30 (version non révisée)
(Douze heures)
Le Président (M. Bergman) : À l’ordre, s’il vous plaît! À l’ordre, s’il vous plaît! Alors, ayant constaté le quorum, je déclare la séance de la Commission de la santé et des services sociaux ouverte. La commission est réunie afin de poursuivre les consultations particulières et les auditions publiques sur le projet de loi n° 52, Loi concernant les soins de fin de vie. Mme la secrétaire, y a-t-il des remplacements? The Chairman (Mr. Bergman): Order, please! Order, please! So, having established a quorum, I declare the meeting of the Board of Health and Social Services opened. The Committee met to continue the special consultations and public hearings on Bill 52, An Act respecting the end-of-life. Madam Secretary, there he has replacements?
La Secrétaire : Non, M. le Président.
Le Président (M. Bergman) : Alors, collègues, nous recevons ce matin Vivre dans la dignité… The Chairman (Mr. Bergman): So, colleagues, we receive this morning Living with Dignity …
12 h (version non révisée)
Le Président (M. Bergman) : …sur le projet de loi n° 52, Loi concernant les soins de fin de vie. The Chairman (Mr. Bergman): … on Bill 52, An Act respecting the end-of-life.
Mme la secrétaire, y a-t-il des remplacements?
La Secrétaire : Non, M. le Président.
Le Président (M. Bergman) : Alors, collègues, nous recevons ce matin Vivre dans la dignité. Alors bienvenue, vous avez 15 minutes pour faire votre présentation et, s’il vous plaît, donnez-nous vos noms et vos titres. Et le prochain 15 minutes, c’est à vous. The Chairman (Mr. Bergman): So, colleagues, we receive this morning live in dignity. So welcome, you have 15 minutes to make your presentation, please give us your names and titles. And the next 15 minutes, it’s up to you.
M. Steenhout (Nicolas) : Merci. M. le Président, Mme la ministre, mesdames et messieurs, je m’appelle Nicolas Steenhout. Ça fait 20 ans que je travaille dans le domaine du droit des personnes handicapées, avec un intérêt particulier dans le sujet de l’euthanasie. Me Racicot, à ma toute droite, est avocat, a été un associé de McCarthy Tétrault jusqu’à sa retraite. À ma droite, ici, c’est Dr Marc Beauchamp, il est chirurgien orthopédique, il a été assistant-professeur à l’Université de Montréal, il fait de la recherche clinique et il a enseigné la bioéthique au département de chirurgie. Dr Beauchamp est le président de Vivre dans la dignité. Steenhout Mr. (Nicolas): Thank you. Mr. President, Madam Minister, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Nicolas Steenhout. It’s been 20 years since I worked in the field of disability law, with a particular interest in the subject of euthanasia. Mr. Racicot, my entire right, a lawyer, was a partner of McCarthy Tétrault until his retirement. To my right, here is Dr. Marc Beauchamp, he is an orthopedic surgeon, he was assistant professor at the University of Montreal, it is of clinical research and taught bioethics at the Department of Surgery. Dr. Beauchamp is President of Living with Dignity.
Vivre dans la dignité est un mouvement citoyen à but non lucratif, areligieux et sans affiliation politique. Ça a été formé en 2010. Vivre dans la dignité regroupe des milliers de personnes, pas juste des médecins, mais des personnes de tous horizons. Notre mission est de défendre les droits inhérents et inaliénables de chaque individu. Notre mémoire a été déposé en français et en anglais. Et je passe la parole à Me Racicot… Living with Dignity is a nonprofit citizen movement, nonreligious and non-partisan. It was formed in 2010. Living in dignity includes thousands of people, not just doctors, but people of all backgrounds. Our mission is to defend the inherent and inalienable rights of each individual. Our brief was filed in French and English. And I pass the floor to Mr. Racicot …

Full Translation