Ontario approved 81-year-old Toronto man’s request
On Feb. 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Canadians in grievous, unending pain have a right to end their life with a doctor’s help. The unanimous ruling established that the “sanctity of life” also includes the “passage into death,” extending constitutional rights, much akin to the use of the 1982 Charter of Rights to establish gay marriage and to strike down a federal abortion law. Canada is among a small a group of countries, including Belgium and some U.S. states, that have approved doctor-assisted suicide
The court overturned its own ruling from 22-years-ago, in which it rejected a right to assisted suicide claim that was claimed by Sue Rodriguez, a woman who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Parliament needed flexibility to protect the vulnerable and respect views on “sanctity of life.”
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…court overturned its own ruling from 22-years-ago…[/pullquote]
In that time, the Canadian government found a blanket prohibition that achieved the desired effect of avoiding unwanted death by knowing who was mistreated or undervalued by the system. The court did not strike down the Criminal Code’s prohibitions on assisted suicide, but said they no longer apply “to the extent that they prohibit physician-assisted death for a competent adult person who (1) clearly consents to the termination of life and (2) has a grievous and irremediable medical condition (including an illness, disease, or disability) that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable to the individual in the circumstances of his or her condition.”
On March 17, 2016, Superior Court Justice Paul Perell agreed to an 81-year-old man’s request for assisted suicide. The man is known to the court as A.B., and suffers from aggressive lymphoma. He met the Supreme Court of Canada’s criteria under the 2015 ruling for an exemption to Criminal Code provisions on assisted suicide.
Justice Perell, after an emotional 30-minute trial, said of A.B.: “deposes that his suffering is intolerable and unbearable.” The judge added that granting the exemption was “not a routine exercise.” The court also ruled that A.B.’s relatives and physicians were not to be identified.
A married man and grandfather, A.B. said, “My only regret in these last months is that my family and I have had to expend what little energy I have left to fight this court battle. My wish is that our government will see fit to make permanent changes in the law so that no other family will have to do this ever again.” This was a plea that A.B. made to make permanent changes to the Criminal Code to allow assisted suicides.
“I would say I have been a diligent hard worker, always wanting to give back to this wonderful country that took us in,” A.B. said in an affidavit, praising his life as an immigrant to Canada. “I feel so grateful to have been able to spend nearly half of my life here.”
“I have lived a wonderful and exciting life, and have seen so much of the world. I am so lucky to have a beautiful family who remain close to me. Although the decision to end my suffering is one that I alone have made, it is important to me to know that I have their support.”
He also agreed that there would be no need to notify the coroner when the man dies, saying the cause of death would be deemed the disease itself. Ontario legislation requires the coroner to be notified of non-natural deaths, including death by drug toxicity, after which the coroner is obliged to take possession of the body and investigate. In his application to the Superior Court filed on Monday, A.B. called it absurd and distressing that his death might lead to a full-blown investigation, which could include an autopsy.
Twenty four hours after the ruling was given, A.B. died and the family gave thanks to justice Perell stating: “Seeing our beloved A.B. calm, peaceful, and without stigma and shame at his life’s end gives us the strength to weather our grief at his departure.”
Their statement continued, saying, “In death, he has been restored to the strong, vibrant and dignified man we knew before cancer and extraordinary pain brought him to his knees.”