The Supreme Court of Canada has re-opened the discussion on assisted suicide by agreeing to hear an appeal on a BC ruling.
The original case was started in 2011 when two Canadian women, Kay Carter and Gloria Taylor challenged the law. While the BC Supreme Court did grant Taylor to right to assisted suicide, she died from Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2012.
In October 2013 the federal government appealed the decision and the BC Court of Appeal upheld the ban.
The BC Civil Liberties Association’s case could allow for terminally ill people the right to assisted suicide.
Mentally competent but terminally ill adults would be able to quicken the death process with the help of physicians.
The top court rejected the BCCLA’s application to have the case heard early as many of the witnesses are very ill. The hearing will likely be heard next fall.
