Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide in Canada Background For years, many people have struggled to get permission to die. For example, in 1992, Sue Rodriguez, a terminal patient of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), questioned the legitimacy of the Criminal Code Section 24 that says: “a person who helps or advises another person to perpetrate suicide even if suicide materializes or not is responsible for a criminal offence and subject to spend time in jail.” Rodriguez claimed that by not allowing her to choose how and when to die, she was denied her right to “life, liberty and security of the person.” Her case went to the Supreme Court but she didn’t win. A short time later she killed herself with the help of an unknown medic. The past year in June, Quebec passed the Act Respecting End of Life Care, by-passing the Criminal Code, by incorporating medically assisted death into provincial health care legislation. It is expected that this new law takes effect by the end of this year.
They work to remind people about the legally-sanctioned killing of unborn children, which is often justified as being the consequence of a woman's right to choose, therefore is considered wrong and unethical. “…In Canada, exterminating the unborn is considered to be a human right supported by all levels of government and political parties. A woman's right to choose, is simply a euphemism for the killing of unborn babies. It's a clever choice of words to hide the reality of abortion…” (Wagner, 2007) The main national organization against abortion was the Alliance for Life headed by Dr. Heather Morris. In 1973 these groups gathered several signed petitions, which were brought forward to the government.
Assisted Suicide Assisted Suicide Ethics is defined as a “systematic study of and reflection on morality.” Analyzing ethical issues in a systematic way brings us to utilize the six-step process to illustrate the critical thinking process. I read the article ‘Judge Lifts Assisted-suicide Ban’ from the Portland Press Herald (Portland Press, 2012) that discusses an issue in British Columbia legalizing the right to assisted suicides. This is a curious matter in health care, especially as a future nurse who has been taught to advocate for my patients. Countries are continuously fighting the issue of assisted suicide as their population ages. In Canada it has been illegal to “counsel, aid or abet a suicide” (Portland Press, 2012) with a maximum sentencing of 14 years.
The story centers mainly around a young Grace Marks, who has worked since her childhood to sustain her family and to earn a living on her own. The Canadian government convicted her at the age of sixteen of plotting with James McDermott to murder their employer, Thomas Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery, his mistress and housekeeper. However, she had no recollection of the murders, as she claimed to be unconscious at the time, despite numerous accounts from McDermott and the press that she was fully awake and even helped to strangle Nancy. Simon Jordan travels to Canada in hopes of jogging her memories and tries to figure out if she played an instrumental role in the murders. By creating a story around an actual event in history, one can create a surprisingly believable novel.
Gloria Taylor has Lou Gehrig's disease, a rapidly progressive, invariably fatal neurological affliction. "It is my life and my body and it should be my choice as to when and how I die," she said before going to the British Columbia Supreme Court last Thursday to challenge Canada's ban on assisted suicide, a crime carrying a sentence of up to 14 years in prison. It has been nearly 20 years since another Lou Gehrig's disease sufferer, Sue Rodriguez, gripped Canadian hearts with her court battle for the right to assisted suicide. She lost her appeal but took her own life with the help of an anonymous doctor in 1994, aged 44. In 1993, a Saskatchewan farmer, Robert Latimer, put his quadriplegic daughter Tracey in his pickup truck, attached an exhaust hose and watched her die.
After two weeks in the hospital, Kate developed an infection that placed her in a coma on a respirator, which is “saving” her for the time being. Another part of this chapter that I found extremely interesting was the reaction of Anna when, after much argument about hockey camp, Sara said, “Anna, don’t make me do this” (269). Anna hotly responds, “Do what, Mom? I don’t make you do anything,” (269) hinting on how, throughout her
Which is unfortunate that people take thoughs bad days and terminate their life over it. I need your help with this problem because I myself as a young woman cannot do it by myself. In North America alone, over 26 thousand people committed suicide in 2008, and every 10 minutes someone ends their life. Which is not right. If people are having a hard time with life, they should talk to someone about it.
José E. Colón Serrano English 3101-2U1 December 04, 2013 In Barbara Huttman’s "A Crime of Compassion”, she develops the conflict undergone by the author, a nurse who performed euthanasia without the approval of her superior. Euthanasia in accordance to “BBC-Ethics” is the termination of life of a very sick person in order to free them from their suffering. In most cases, euthanasia is carried out because the person who is seriously ill asks for it, but there are cases where a person cannot make such request. The author was taken to the Phil Donahue show as if she was taken to court, but in the eyes of the audience she already was guilty of committing a crime. This essay will argue that Huttmann made a wise decision and did not commit a crime.
/ This is number three (Plath 21-22).” In the poem she describes the two previous attempts at killing herself when she says “The first time it happened I was ten. /It was an accident. /The second time I meant to last it out and not come back at all (Plath 35-38)”. She describes death as “an art” that she does “exceptionally well” (Plath 43-45). The narrator is clearly miserable with her life and considers suicide to be the only solution.
After her family found out, she was sent to jail. When she gets out in 12 years she is going to be exicuted by her family. The only way around being exicuted is if she marries the man who raped her. The practice of honor killing is most commonly found in middle eastern areas such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. While some might stand by their claim of ethical relativism, and believe that we do not have the right to criticize the practices of honor killing, it is not morally right to stand by silently and watch as innocent people are being murdered.