The federal government has won its appeal of a B.C. Supreme Court ruling striking down the ban on doctor-assisted death – setting up a landmark legal battle that will likely go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In a split 2-1 decision, the Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling that said Canada's assisted-suicide ban violated the charter rights of gravely ill Canadians.
The court gave Parliament a year to fix the law, while also granting a B.C. plaintiff in the case, ALS patient Gloria Taylor, an immediate exemption from the ban. Taylor died in October of last year without taking advantage of that exemption.
Ottawa appealed, arguing allowing physician-assisted suicide would demean the value of life and put vulnerable people at risk of abuse.
Following the decision in favour of the government, the BC Civil Liberties Association said it was “deeply disappointed” in the ruling.
Several plaintiffs, including Taylor and the children of Kay Carter, who travelled to Switzerland to seek doctor-assisted suicide in 2010, launched the challenge.
The full impact of the Appeal Court decision is unclear, as observers predict the case is headed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which last considered assisted suicide in 1993.
It upheld the current law in a case involving Sue Rodriguez, who also had ALS – also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Rodriguez died with the help of a doctor the following year.
The Court of Appeal decision comes at a time when the issue of physician-assisted suicide is receiving renewed attention across the country.
The Royal Society of Canada issued a report two years ago that recommended physician-assisted suicide be legalized, and an editorial printed last year in the Canadian Medical Association Journal called for a national debate.
Politicians in Quebec are currently examining a bill that would permit physician-assisted suicide.
With files from CTV British Columbia’s Maria Weisgarber, CTV News’ Melanie Nagy and The Canadian Press
