The elderly mother of a now-deceased B.C. woman says she hopes to continue her daughter's fight for doctor-assisted suicide in the province's highest court this week.
Anne Fomenoff, the 85 year-old mother of Gloria Taylor, said she too believes Canadians should be granted the choice to decide how much suffering they want to endure when they are dying.
“I just have no words to explain how strong I feel about what this started, and we want to see it to the very successful finish, and it will happen,” Fomenoff said.
"[Gloria] lived her final days free from her illness, and she knew that if her suffering became unbearable, she would not be forced to die slowly, piece by piece.”
Taylor was a lead plaintiff in the successful B.C. Civil Liberties lawsuit challenging the law against physician assisted-dying, but died before it reached the appeal stage, which is scheduled to begin Monday.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled last June the government had one year to draft new legislation, and in the meantime granted Taylor a constitutional exemption to seek help from a doctor.
Instead Taylor, who had Lou Gehrig's disease, died unexpectedly last October of an infection.
Grace Pastine, with the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the plaintiffs in the case are imploring the federal government to make changes rather than waste money preventing people from receiving the care they dearly want and need.
"Even as her own body failed her, Gloria fought for all Canadians to have choice and dignity at the end of her life," Pastine said. "She was incensed that other Canadians faced the same cruel predicament."
Both sides of the assisted suicide debate will face off in Vancouver this week with rallies planned in advance of the controversial legal challenge.
Dr. Will Johnston, chair of the Euthenasia Prevention Coalition of B.C., said giving people the power to choose when they die would be bad public policy.
"We can see that there's been a serious mistake made in the lower court ruling that legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia," he said.
"A right to suicide implies that you need someone from the government to help you kill yourself if you're disabled, and that was the argument that was being made."
Johnston said some coalition members will rally Monday to warn Canadians about giving individuals constitutional immunity from the law.
"I hope that Canadians will listen to both sides and get the whole story, and see that we need to do a good a job as possible looking after people in trouble, and that should never extend to actually actively killing them or intending to kill them," he said.
The appeal, originally scheduled to be heard Monday, could be delayed as the federal government seeks a last-minute adjournment due to one of its lawyers being ill.
The challenge is expected to eventually make its way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
With files from CTV British Columbia’s Maria Weisgarber and The Canadian Press
