Doctor-assisted suicide was determined to be a viable option in specific cases by the Supreme Court of Canada on Friday, amending a previous law that made the practice illegal.
The ruling only applies to individuals in certain circumstances, and specifically to competent adults who can clearly decide to end their lives.
Legislation will now be written to respond to the court’s ruling, so the ban on doctor-assisted suicide was not immediately lifted.
The legal battle was about two women, Kay Carter and Gloria Taylor, who sought the right to choose to die. Both women have died since the case began. Carter traveled to Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal, to end her life.
Her daughter, Lee Carter, told CBC News, “I want everybody in this country to live the life as they want to. But for those that ... don't want to continue, that have an incurable illness, [I'm glad] that they have a choice."
She made the response to a question about a woman who has a physical disability and said that, with this ruling, she feels pushed to end her life, CBC said.
The Toronto Star called the decision a “total victory” for those in favor of doctor-assisted suicide, citing the fact that all nine judges concurred on the decision.
The Supreme Court interpreted the country’s charter as meaning that right to life does not mean the “right not to die,” the newspaper said.
“This would create a duty to live,” the Star quoted the court’s decision.
If interpreted in such a way, it “would call into question the legality of any consent to the withdrawal or refusal or lifesaving or life-sustaining treatment,” the court ruled.
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