Unanimous ruling by Supreme Court on doctor assisted suicide
- Thread starter mentalfloss
- Start date
Can I have on of those cards for the 'amnesty for Americans in Mexico' thread cause I missed the boat and the water it sits on with that one.
The doctors will scratch and claw their way out of this cuz they stand to loose kick backs on pills.
When Joe Arvay talks, intelligent people pause to listen. Arvay is one of British Columbia's finest legal minds, an incredibly skilled barrister.
Arvay was in Ottawa today to address the Commons justice committee on blatant flaws in the Trudeau government's death with dignity legislation also known to the troglodyte community as the assisted suicide bill.
Mr. Arvay, a paraplegic himself, wheeled into the committee room to tell justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and her posse that what the government is proposing to dish up is unconstitutional. He said it falls well short of the Supreme Court's ruling in Carter v. R.
Arvay said the government has no right to limit assisted death only to those with advanced terminal disease.
“Parliament cannot now exclude a whole category of such persons — the physically disabled whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable — from their charter right.”
“To suggest the bill is constitutional because the minister thinks there’s some people who believe it should only go this far is, in my respectful submission, is not legal reasoning and has no merit.
“The Carter decision is the final word on the minimum rights that Canadian citizens are entitled to and those minimum rights are not limited to illnesses that are terminal. (Wilson-Raybould is) just wrong, I’m sorry to say.”
Arvay said the Trudeau government has, "become captured by the rhetoric of the disabled rights organizations.”
“For many disabled people — and I’m one of them — we’ve managed to tolerate and adapt to our suffering and choose life over death. But to suggest that all physically disabled people have to subscribe to that notion is not just patronizing, it’s infantilizing,” he said.
“It’s treating all physically disabled people as children incapable of agency and autonomy and I just find that incredibly offensive. The trial judge did. The Supreme Court of Canada did. I don’t get why this government doesn’t understand that.”
The judgment is clear. The government is bound to follow it. That's called the "rule of law" and it is the cornerstone of democracy. Our government, no matter how well intentioned, is spineless, utterly feckless when it comes to tough issues.
Trudeau, like the guy he replaced, has a problem with the rule of law.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...-is-clearly-unconstitutional-lawyer-says.html
Arvay was in Ottawa today to address the Commons justice committee on blatant flaws in the Trudeau government's death with dignity legislation also known to the troglodyte community as the assisted suicide bill.
Mr. Arvay, a paraplegic himself, wheeled into the committee room to tell justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and her posse that what the government is proposing to dish up is unconstitutional. He said it falls well short of the Supreme Court's ruling in Carter v. R.
Arvay said the government has no right to limit assisted death only to those with advanced terminal disease.
“Parliament cannot now exclude a whole category of such persons — the physically disabled whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable — from their charter right.”
“To suggest the bill is constitutional because the minister thinks there’s some people who believe it should only go this far is, in my respectful submission, is not legal reasoning and has no merit.
“The Carter decision is the final word on the minimum rights that Canadian citizens are entitled to and those minimum rights are not limited to illnesses that are terminal. (Wilson-Raybould is) just wrong, I’m sorry to say.”
Arvay said the Trudeau government has, "become captured by the rhetoric of the disabled rights organizations.”
“For many disabled people — and I’m one of them — we’ve managed to tolerate and adapt to our suffering and choose life over death. But to suggest that all physically disabled people have to subscribe to that notion is not just patronizing, it’s infantilizing,” he said.
“It’s treating all physically disabled people as children incapable of agency and autonomy and I just find that incredibly offensive. The trial judge did. The Supreme Court of Canada did. I don’t get why this government doesn’t understand that.”
The judgment is clear. The government is bound to follow it. That's called the "rule of law" and it is the cornerstone of democracy. Our government, no matter how well intentioned, is spineless, utterly feckless when it comes to tough issues.
Trudeau, like the guy he replaced, has a problem with the rule of law.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...-is-clearly-unconstitutional-lawyer-says.html
I have 2 people in my life who I think would deserve to use Doctor assisted death.
The first one was my Mom. She had advanced dementia and at the end, her body was full of cancer. She would scream in pain.
We couldn't get them to give her enough drugs ..
I looked at her teeth because she had ground her teeth to the nub. There was practically nothing left.
She didn't deserve to endure that pain at the end.
The second example of someone who deserves (and wants) Doctor assisted death
Actually for her, I would do it myself if I had the nerve.
Betty is about 55 and I have known her for over 20 years.
We met in a depression support group and have been friends ever since.
Unfortunately her health have deteriorated since then, both emotionally and physically.
She has gotten to the point that she is bedridden.
The doctors have no idea what is wrong.
Don't bother telling me that " well maybe the doctors will find out what is wrong".
Maybe researchers will find a cure for cancer during her lifetime too.
If there is a God s/he would want mercy to be shown.
The first one was my Mom. She had advanced dementia and at the end, her body was full of cancer. She would scream in pain.
We couldn't get them to give her enough drugs ..
I looked at her teeth because she had ground her teeth to the nub. There was practically nothing left.
She didn't deserve to endure that pain at the end.
The second example of someone who deserves (and wants) Doctor assisted death
Actually for her, I would do it myself if I had the nerve.
Betty is about 55 and I have known her for over 20 years.
We met in a depression support group and have been friends ever since.
Unfortunately her health have deteriorated since then, both emotionally and physically.
She has gotten to the point that she is bedridden.
The doctors have no idea what is wrong.
Don't bother telling me that " well maybe the doctors will find out what is wrong".
Maybe researchers will find a cure for cancer during her lifetime too.
If there is a God s/he would want mercy to be shown.
Yes but it's still the wrong thread.....
As the Trudeau government sees it, the per curiam decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Carter case, the one that establishes the framework of the assisted dying right, is no longer applicable (link is external).
Now that there is a new law — which allows assisted dying only for incurably ill adults who are already close to a natural death — the government says those findings are no longer necessarily true.
"The defendant does not admit that these findings remain true today or that they are applicable in the present case," the government argues in a document filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Among the facts that the government suggests are no longer true are the top court’s findings that:
— Denying assistance in dying for people with grievous and irremediable medical conditions may condemn them to a life of severe and intolerable suffering.
— Such a person faces a "cruel choice": take his or her own life prematurely or suffer until natural death.
— A permissive approach to assisted dying would not put Canada on a "slippery slope" in which disabled and
other vulnerable Canadians are pressured to end their lives.
The government’s argument is in response to a court challenge launched by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and Julia Lamb, a wheelchair−bound 25−year−old who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative disease that she fears will eventually consign her to years of intolerable suffering. Lamb and the BCCLA contend the new law is unconstitutional and not compliant with the Carter decision because it would not allow an assisted death for people, like Lamb, who are suffering but not near death.
In a terse reply to the government’s document, Joseph Arvay, lawyer for the plaintiffs, says the government "is estopped from disputing the factual findings made in Carter ... and to do so is an abuse of process."
Grace Pastine, the BCCLA’s litigation director, said the government is essentially saying, "’We’ve crafted a brand new law and so now this is a brand new issue and you have to re−litigate and re−argue every issue related to physician−assisted dying all over again.’"
The legal fight that culminated in the Carter ruling took four years and cost millions, she noted, adding that the government is creating "a real barrier to justice" by maintaining that battle must be fought all over again.
"If ordinary Canadians and public interest groups and pro−bono lawyers have to recreate the wheel every time they challenge an unconstitutional law, they’re seriously disadvantaged against the bottomless pockets of the federal government," Pastine said in an interview.
Trudeau and justice minister Jody remind us, yet again, of the bad old days of the Harper regime. When it suits them they can be every bit as despicable, just as authoritarian, as the scoundrels they replaced. Just like Harper they see themselves as above the law.
I don't see any indication that anybody's being forced to do anything.
Now, personally, I'd be glad to. But I support the right of others to not participate.
Doctors and nurse practitioners have helped hasten the deaths of more than 100 Canadians since the federal law governing medical aid in dying was passed in June 2016.
The actual number of deaths is probably significantly higher because several provinces could not, or would not, provide complete data. Quebec, which was the first province to adopt a law on doctor-assisted death, provided no data whatsoever.
The federal law governing medical aid in dying came into effect June 17, after weeks of passionate, and sometimes very personal, political debate. However, the federal government isn't yet officially tracking the number of deaths.
The new law requires the federal government to come up with guidelines for what data should be recorded when someone asks for a medically assisted death. But that hasn't happened yet.
"These regulations could include specifying the kind of information to be provided, the body that would analyze the information, and how often reports would be published," said a spokesperson for Health Minister Jane Philpott.
Right now the government is still working on an interim protocol to track the numbers.
There are also dozens of medically-assisted deaths that took place before the legislation was passed.
Initially, when the Supreme Court declared it was unconstitutional to stop suffering Canadians from accessing medical aid in dying, the court gave the then-Conservative government 12 months to put a new law in place.
When the Liberals came into power, the court granted that government a four-month extension, but said, during that time, Canadians who wanted a doctor's help to die could apply to a provincial judge for permission . There was also a brief period of time after the Supreme Court's deadline expired where there was no new federal legislation in place.
One group that represents Canadian doctors said things seem to be off to a fairly good start.
The Canadian Medical Association has generally been supportive of the government's approach on this issue. It just wrapped a general meeting with members in Vancouver in August.
"Based on anecdotal reports from CMA members, things seem to be proceeding relatively well with respect to availability of physicians and interpretation of federal legislation, " said a spokesperson in a statement.
However, one civil rights group has already launched a legal challenge, saying Canadians who are suffering, but not nearing the end of life, should still be able to access medical assistance in death. An official with the justice minister's office said it was the only legal challenge of the legislation.
More than 100 Canadians have opted for assisted death since law passed - Politics - CBC News
The actual number of deaths is probably significantly higher because several provinces could not, or would not, provide complete data. Quebec, which was the first province to adopt a law on doctor-assisted death, provided no data whatsoever.
The federal law governing medical aid in dying came into effect June 17, after weeks of passionate, and sometimes very personal, political debate. However, the federal government isn't yet officially tracking the number of deaths.
The new law requires the federal government to come up with guidelines for what data should be recorded when someone asks for a medically assisted death. But that hasn't happened yet.
"These regulations could include specifying the kind of information to be provided, the body that would analyze the information, and how often reports would be published," said a spokesperson for Health Minister Jane Philpott.
Right now the government is still working on an interim protocol to track the numbers.
There are also dozens of medically-assisted deaths that took place before the legislation was passed.
Initially, when the Supreme Court declared it was unconstitutional to stop suffering Canadians from accessing medical aid in dying, the court gave the then-Conservative government 12 months to put a new law in place.
When the Liberals came into power, the court granted that government a four-month extension, but said, during that time, Canadians who wanted a doctor's help to die could apply to a provincial judge for permission . There was also a brief period of time after the Supreme Court's deadline expired where there was no new federal legislation in place.
One group that represents Canadian doctors said things seem to be off to a fairly good start.
The Canadian Medical Association has generally been supportive of the government's approach on this issue. It just wrapped a general meeting with members in Vancouver in August.
"Based on anecdotal reports from CMA members, things seem to be proceeding relatively well with respect to availability of physicians and interpretation of federal legislation, " said a spokesperson in a statement.
However, one civil rights group has already launched a legal challenge, saying Canadians who are suffering, but not nearing the end of life, should still be able to access medical assistance in death. An official with the justice minister's office said it was the only legal challenge of the legislation.
More than 100 Canadians have opted for assisted death since law passed - Politics - CBC News
why indeed, when cops do such a good job
lol
just tell the truth about Hillary...that works too
also:
they will save twice
On pain killers for old folks
and then on the wish to not live without them
Scores of suffering Canadians who’ve been excluded from the federal government’s restrictive eligibility criteria for medical assistance in dying are lining up to join a constitutional challenge to the new law.
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which is spearheading the challenge, has been “overwhelmed” by “scores” of responses to its call for help in the case, says Grace Pastine, the association’s director of litigation.
The BCCLA has also been stunned by the response to its crowdfunding campaign to pay for the looming legal battle, which so far features one plaintiff — Julia Lamb, a wheelchair-bound 25-year-old who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative disease that she fears will eventually consign her to years of intolerable suffering.
Just 10 days after announcing the constitutional challenge in late June, the BCCLA met its goal of raising $75,000.
“It is a testament to how important and deeply personal this issue is to so many Canadians,” said Pastine.
But the BCCLA — which spearheaded the four-year legal challenge that led to last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down the ban on medically assisted dying — will need a lot more donations to compete with the kind of money the federal government is evidently prepared to throw at the issue.
Under Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, the government spent at least $3.3 million on its losing legal fight to maintain the prohibition on assisted dying, according to a document released under the Access to Information Act.
The detailed breakdown of those costs is blacked out, citing “solicitor-client privilege,” so it is impossible to tell whether the price includes hours spent by Justice Department lawyers or is just the total spent on outside legal experts. The Canadian Press had asked for both.
“The last government spent millions in taxpayers’ money to defend, unsuccessfully, a law that caused immeasurable suffering and, in the process, ran roughshod over Canadians’ charter rights,” said Shanaaz Gokool, CEO of Dying with Dignity Canada.
“We question why the current government, with its stated commitment to upholding the charter, would want to adopt the same misguided approach.”
Murray Rankin, the NDP’s justice critic, said the government has let down people like Helene L. and Maier-Clayton.
“They seem to be oblivious to the suffering, the real suffering people are dealing with,” he said.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...-dying-law-eager-to-join-legal-challenge.html
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which is spearheading the challenge, has been “overwhelmed” by “scores” of responses to its call for help in the case, says Grace Pastine, the association’s director of litigation.
The BCCLA has also been stunned by the response to its crowdfunding campaign to pay for the looming legal battle, which so far features one plaintiff — Julia Lamb, a wheelchair-bound 25-year-old who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative disease that she fears will eventually consign her to years of intolerable suffering.
Just 10 days after announcing the constitutional challenge in late June, the BCCLA met its goal of raising $75,000.
“It is a testament to how important and deeply personal this issue is to so many Canadians,” said Pastine.
But the BCCLA — which spearheaded the four-year legal challenge that led to last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down the ban on medically assisted dying — will need a lot more donations to compete with the kind of money the federal government is evidently prepared to throw at the issue.
Under Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, the government spent at least $3.3 million on its losing legal fight to maintain the prohibition on assisted dying, according to a document released under the Access to Information Act.
The detailed breakdown of those costs is blacked out, citing “solicitor-client privilege,” so it is impossible to tell whether the price includes hours spent by Justice Department lawyers or is just the total spent on outside legal experts. The Canadian Press had asked for both.
“The last government spent millions in taxpayers’ money to defend, unsuccessfully, a law that caused immeasurable suffering and, in the process, ran roughshod over Canadians’ charter rights,” said Shanaaz Gokool, CEO of Dying with Dignity Canada.
“We question why the current government, with its stated commitment to upholding the charter, would want to adopt the same misguided approach.”
Murray Rankin, the NDP’s justice critic, said the government has let down people like Helene L. and Maier-Clayton.
“They seem to be oblivious to the suffering, the real suffering people are dealing with,” he said.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...-dying-law-eager-to-join-legal-challenge.html
Catholic bishops from Alberta and the Northwest Territories have doubled down on the issue of assisted dying with a 32-page missive about who will and won't be going to Heaven (link is external).
Cut to the chase: Catholics who go the assisted dying route are Christ killers and will definitely not be heading to the Pearly Gates. Of course this may scare the c rap out of the superstitious who still cling to religion and keep the money coming into the churches.
“The Church does, in fact, celebrate Christian funerals for those who have been found after the fact to have committed suicide,” they write. “We are not able to judge the reason the person has taken that decision or the disposition of their heart.”
“The case of assisted suicide or euthanasia, however, is a situation where more can sometimes be known of the disposition of the person and the freedom of the chronically ill man or woman, particularly if it is high-profile or notorious,” they write.
“In such cases, it may not be possible to celebrate a Christian funeral. If the Church were to refuse a funeral to someone, it is not to punish the person but to recognise his or her decision – a decision that has brought him or her to an action that is contrary to the Christian faith, that is somehow notorious and public, and would do harm to the Christian community and the larger culture.”
Cut to the chase: Catholics who go the assisted dying route are Christ killers and will definitely not be heading to the Pearly Gates. Of course this may scare the c rap out of the superstitious who still cling to religion and keep the money coming into the churches.
“The Church does, in fact, celebrate Christian funerals for those who have been found after the fact to have committed suicide,” they write. “We are not able to judge the reason the person has taken that decision or the disposition of their heart.”
“The case of assisted suicide or euthanasia, however, is a situation where more can sometimes be known of the disposition of the person and the freedom of the chronically ill man or woman, particularly if it is high-profile or notorious,” they write.
“In such cases, it may not be possible to celebrate a Christian funeral. If the Church were to refuse a funeral to someone, it is not to punish the person but to recognise his or her decision – a decision that has brought him or her to an action that is contrary to the Christian faith, that is somehow notorious and public, and would do harm to the Christian community and the larger culture.”
What a surprise.
WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING? Insurers use California’s assisted-suicide law to deny treatment for terminal patients. – InvestmentWatch
WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING? Insurers use California’s assisted-suicide law to deny treatment for terminal patients. – InvestmentWatch
About one-year ago, Gov. Jerry Brown signed the state’s assisted-suicide bill into law. It fully went into effect this June, with the opening of the first clinic. While there is no data on the number of California assisted-suicides, Oregon recorded over 130 last year as part of their legalized physician-assisted death program.
Now, one young mother says her insurance company denied her coverage for chemotherapy treatment after originally agreeing to provide the fiscal support for it, but indicated it would be willing to pay for assisted suicide instead. . . .
“As soon as this law was passed – and you see it everywhere, when these laws are passed – patients fighting for a longer life end up getting denied treatment, because this will always be the cheapest option.”
Packer attends a support group for terminally ill patients. She said legally sanctioned suicide has changed the tone of the meetings, which used to be “positive and encouraging.” With patients under new societal pressure to kill themselves, she said meetings “became negative, and it started consuming people. And then they said, ‘You know what? I wish I could just end it.’”
Now, one young mother says her insurance company denied her coverage for chemotherapy treatment after originally agreeing to provide the fiscal support for it, but indicated it would be willing to pay for assisted suicide instead. . . .
“As soon as this law was passed – and you see it everywhere, when these laws are passed – patients fighting for a longer life end up getting denied treatment, because this will always be the cheapest option.”
Packer attends a support group for terminally ill patients. She said legally sanctioned suicide has changed the tone of the meetings, which used to be “positive and encouraging.” With patients under new societal pressure to kill themselves, she said meetings “became negative, and it started consuming people. And then they said, ‘You know what? I wish I could just end it.’”