Paralyzed Canadian cabinet minister supports euthanasia, will abstain from Bill C-384

Description:

Conservative MP Steven Fletcher, Minister of State for Democratic Reform, and a quadriplegic, will abstain from voting on Bill C-384, despite his belief that terminally ill or physically disabled people should be allowed to choose death in some instances.

In an interview with Canwest News Service, Fletcher said that although he feels that Bill C-384 is too broad, he hopes its underlying issues will spark meaningful discussion among Canadians. "At the end of the day, I think people should have the ability to choose. However, I also want to challenge Canadians to provide the resources so that people choose life over death."

[Note: Some other recent stories related to this topic are in the Links: section below.]

Coming Up:
  • Tasmania's Dying With Dignity Bill 2009 will be debated by the House of Assembly this Wednesday

  • Canadian Bill C-384 will be debated again on November 16th

  • This week's Exit International's North American tour should have news of the new "Exit Pill", made from a stable inert form of the barbiturate Nembutal. It has been developed for long term storage and transport.

Links:

To read the full article click on one of these links, both of which go to the same destination. A short link is provided for the convenience of readers. Also, readers may search and browse past advisories on the web (see bottom.)

Source:

Stone, Laura. "Paralyzed federal minister supports euthanasia, but won't vote on right-to-die bill". The Gazette, Canwest. November 2, 2009. <www.montrealgazette.com/health/Paralyzed+federal+minister+supports+euthanasia+vote+right+bill/2172048/story.html>. The Gazette, 1010 Ste. Catherine St. West, Suite 200, Montreal, Quebec, H3B 5L1, CANADA.

Tags:

Tags (or keywords) briefly indicate some major topics of the report.

  • Bill C-384, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (right to die with dignity)

  • Canada

ID:

The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid200911020038.
Mailed: Monday, November 2, 2009 14:16:01 -0600
at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Etcetera:

EuthaNEWSia is a free Canadian news advisory service covering end-of-life issues such as right to die, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. EuthaNEWSia is produced by the Right to Die Society of Canada which works toward a good death for all, including open, regulated and equitable access to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The editor is Michael Dawson <editor@euthanewsia.ca>.

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