-------------------------------------------------------------
Hillary Young is a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of
Ottawa and teaches a course on Death and the Law. An extract
from her OpEd piece in the Ottawa Citizen:
As a Bloc Quebecois private member's bill on a controversial
subject, Bill C-384 never had much of a chance. It was defeated
following second reading and never made it to committee.
This is unfortunate, because it is time that Parliament gave serious
thought to enacting assisted suicide legislation.
Despite the dire predictions of opponents, there is no reason to fear a
well-crafted law that decriminalizes assisted suicide. The experiences of
jurisdictions where assisted suicide is legal reveal that few people
actually avail themselves of their right to die with dignity. Those who do
tend to be dying of painful, terminal diseases like cancer. The slippery
slope seems not to have materialized in the Netherlands and Oregon, where
assisted suicide has been legal since 2001 and 1997 respectively. In those
jurisdictions, reports suggest that people are not pressured to choose
death. It is true that, on rare occasions, doctors will euthanize patients
without their consent (usually in the last days of their life and out of a
desire to end a person's suffering), but that happens in Canada, too. And
it is illegal in Oregon and the Netherlands, just as it is — and would
surely remain — here.
[There are other related stories in the Links: section below.]
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 and future advisories on the web (see bottom.)
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/fear+slippery+slope/2974510/story.html
Also see:
Nova Scotia: Palliative care MD: Euthanasia a slippery slope
[The Chronicle Herald]
http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1180061.html
A professor of palliative care at the University of Ottawa and
medical chief of palliative care at Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Jose
Pereira is recognized internationally for his work in the field of
caring for people who are near death.
Experience in countries that allow the practice of killing
terminally ill patients has shown that rules about
euthanasia and assisted suicide are often broken, he said.
That makes legalised euthanasia a "slippery social slope."
When countries like Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium,
part of Australia and two American states legalized
various methods of helping people die, it was initially
offered only to terminally ill patients who consented to
the procedure - and only after other palliative measures
were refused, he said.
But within a few years the rules changed. As a result
patients were being euthanized without consent and/or to
free up hospital beds. Others were being offered
euthanasia for depression or, if over 70, for being "tired
of living."
Young, Hillary. "Don't fear the slippery slope". The Ottawa Citizen. May 1, 2010. <www.ottawacitizen.com/fear+slippery+slope/2974510/story.html>. The Ottawa Citizen, 1101 Baxter Road, Box 5020, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 3M4.
Tags (or keywords) briefly indicate some major topics of the report.
euthanasia
assisted suicide
slippery slope
Canada
The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid201005035209.
Mailed: Monday, May 3, 2010 13:55:26 -0600
at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
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>.
-------------------------------------------------------------
EuthaNEWSia mailing list
euthanewsia-subscribe@euthanewsia.ca
You may leave the Subject blank and the message empty: the
server only reads the From address on the message.
euthanewsia-unsubscribe@euthanewsia.ca
You may leave the Subject blank and the message empty: the
server only reads the From address on the message.
-------------------------------------------------------------
see the recent headlines on the front page at www.euthanewsia.ca
see as-yet unpublished stories at the Pending Advisories page.
subscribe to the RSS News feed. More information is on the Subscribe page.
search the advisories on the search page.
browse and read past stories on the past stories page.
Problems? Send an email to: editor@euthanewsia.ca