Right to die with assistance from a doctor granted to Calgary man
原始发布日期： 2016-04-15 发布者：李方字变大 字变小
Southern Alberta man suffering from an illness asks judge to allow him a doctor-assisted death A Calgary judge has granted a constitutional exemption that a southern Alberta man be allowed to end his life with the help of a doctor (CBC) With his wife and two children sitting in the gallery of a Calgary court room, a man who can only be identified as HW was granted the right to die with the help of a doctor. Many of the details of the case — including the man's illness — are protected by a publication ban. HW asked for as much court-ordered privacy as he was allowed, though Justice Sandy Park denied an application for the hearing to be held in camera. "[HW] has as long and severe a list of difficulties as I would ever hope to see," said HW's lawyer Olivier Fuldauer. [the] "intolerable suffering test is met in spades." Affidavits were filed by Fuldauer and the hearing took place Friday afternoon with Park delivering his decision right away. It's the second time since January's Supreme Court decision that an Albertan has sought a legal exemption for doctor-assisted death. Under Canada's current law, it is still a crime to assist another person in ending their life but two recent decisions at the Supreme Court allow exemptions if certain criteria are met. In January, the country's highest court granted the constitutional exemption to those who make an application in superior court and are found to have met the criteria until new legislation is crafted in June. Park found HW is a competent and consenting adult who meets all the tenants of the Supreme Court's criteria for a constitutional exemption, including that he have a grievous and irremedial medical condition with enduring and intolerable suffering. Quebec passed its own separate assisted dying law, effective Dec. 10, 2015. A Quebec City woman who died with the assistance of a doctor became the first known case in January. New legislation was tabled on Thursday but the bill will be further studied before it's debated in the House of Commons. The law must be in place by June 6. |