Assisted dying is mostly referred to as suicide that is committed with the assistance of physicians. In this case, the doctor provides the patient with the knowledge and means such as lethal doses necessary for easy dying. To reduce the intensity of the term ‘assisted’ the advocates mostly uses the ‘compassionate death’ to refer to assisted dying. In most cases, the compassionate death is confused with the euthanasia which is ‘mercy killing’. However, assisted dying and mercy killing are different such that, in euthanasia means of dying are administered by the physicians while in assisted dying the patients manages the meanings of dying themselves (Mottiar, Grant & McVey, 2016). However, assisted dying has been opposed for many years, for instance, in Canada the issue has been over the news since 2015, following the case of Gloria Carter. The paper provides a description of the issue behind Gloria Carter’s case and the ruling provided by the court. Also, the opinion regarding assisted dying is clearly outlined.
Issue and Legal Position
Gloria Carter was the Canadian suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis a severe coronary disease that prompted her to advocate for medically assisted dying. After Carter was diagnosed with ALS, in 2011 she filed a death at law will suit with the Columbia Supreme Court. This was the case because the ALS was a severe and incurable that put the patients too much pain. At the same time, the Columbian Civil Liberties Association filed a lawsuit challenging the laws that made the assisted dying position appear as a criminal offense (Butler & Tiedemann, 2015). The challenge provided was that the law governing the assisted dying position sought to give rights to the patients who suffered severe and incurable ailments through enabling them to receive medical aid that hasten their death.
The continued debate on the incorporation of the right since Carters application led to the development of the 2015 C-14 Bill from Canada’s Supreme Court. The Bill incorporated all the rights of the high court and the views of the Canadian citizens including those of Carter. The C-14 bill has legalized the assisted dying positions but on the specified grounds. The Bill has limited the right to seek the assisted dying position to the adults over 18 years and death foreseeably resulting from intolerable suffering (Olivia Anne Duffy BMSc, 2015). Therefore, the legal position and current rule on the assisted dying position in Canada is protected by the civil rights.
Positions and Implications
Just like Carter and other plaintiffs argued that it was unconstitutional to render the medically assisted death to be a criminal code. Their argument was that obscuring the patients to seek for physician-assisted death, was depriving them the rights to making their choices based on psychological, emotional and physical dignity. The implication was that, the Canadian society value and respect the choices made by people and that it is ethical to enable the suffering to die with dignity. However, plaintiffs stand was that all the Canadians are entitled to making choices about what they consider great death, the option of assisted death being inclusive (Olivia Anne Duffy BMSc, 2015). Conversely, most people required the law required adjusting in advocating for medically assisted death which would stop the seriously ailing patients from extensively suffering. Later, the court position was made for the plaintiffs, Carter inclusive that the right to seeking assisted death is protected by the Rights and Freedoms Charter. However, it is vivid that the society respects individual decisions and does not support suffering to their ill individuals.
My Opinion
We all make choices in many diverse situations without seeking any legal jurisdiction, but some situations are tied to legal positions. In our case, I feel that the medical assisted dying position should be legally established in Canada’s constitution. This is the case as failing to legalize the law deprives the Canadian citizens’ rights of making choices in determining their stance. For instance, according to section 15 of the Canadian Rights and Freedoms Charter, persons with degenerative diseases lacking physical means of ending their lives, should be availed with medical assistance (Butler & Tiedemann, 2015). Thus, I feel that it is discriminative to the degenerative patients when the right of choosing their emotional, psychological and physical dignity is not provided to them. Nevertheless, section seven of the constitution provides that the patients suffering from serious and incurable ailments have the right to end their suffering as early as possible before their condition worsens, and they can not make any decisions. Thus, the issue of medically assisted death should be legalised to avoid prolonging the suffering the patients against their will. Unlike euthanasia where physicians administer the means of dying to the patients, the assisted dying position only requires the assistance of the doctor based on the patient’s decisions. Therefore, the patients medically assisted death should be protected by the civil rights as reduces the suffering of the patients subjected to incurable ailments. Otherwise, the patients are subjected to extensive suffering for years where they later die under much pain.
Conclusion
Some ailments are severe and pose extreme pain to the patients, who opt to seek for medical aid to terminate the sufferings through death. It is ethical to let the patients choose their emotional, psychological and physical dignity in torturing circumstances. To avoid physicians or even patients taking advantage of the position, the law should be strict in the conditions that the medical assisted dying position should be provided. With the C-14 bill passed, it is certain that rights of the adult, in extreme suffering and their death, are foreseeable; they can freely seek for assisted dying position from the physicians.
References
Butler, M., & Tiedemann, M. (2015). Carter v. Canada: The Supreme Court of Canada’s Decision on Assisted Dying.
Mottiar, M., Grant, C., & McVey, M. J. (2016). Physician-assisted death and the anesthesiologist. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal Canadien d'anesthésie, 1-4.
Olivia Anne Duffy BMSc, M. D. (2015). The Supreme Court of Canada Ruling on Physician-Assisted Death: Implications for Psychiatry in Canada. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 60(12), 591.
