Even though a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling struck down Canada’s laws against physician-assisted suicide, patients reaching the end of their lives at Saint-Vincent Hospital will have access to the full range of traditional palliative care services even as their “right to choose” is honoured.
The court ruled that Canada’s current laws against physician-assisted suicide were a violation of Charter rights. This means that in 2016 adults with “a grievous and irremediable medical condition that causes enduring suffering that is intolerable,” and have given clear consent may end their lives with the aid of a medical doctor.
With nearly 25 per cent of Centretown’s population over 55, some in the community may find themselves thankful that they may now have the choice to end their lives this way if need be – while others may see the ruling as a slippery slope towards conflictual or even non-consensual end-of-life scenarios for those most vulnerable in society.
Joanne Yelle, vice-president of public affairs at Bruyère Continuing Care, the Ottawa-based healthcare organization that includes Centretown’s Saint–Vincent Hospital, says that despite the ruling, that organization’s priorities will remain the same.
“We always try to put the patient first,” says Yelle. “Our focus has been and will continue to be palliative care at the end of life.”
The court’s ruling is seen as a major victory for some who have been working towards legalizing physician-assisted suicide, including the Ottawa-based End of Life Care Choice Committee. Part of the Ottawa Senior Pride Network, the committee provides information and promotes discussion about physician-assisted suicide and choosing death.
“I am very pleased,” says committee chair Pat Hill, “as are the other 80 per cent of Canadians who approve of the Supreme Court’s decision. And I’m delighted to know that if I need it, I will have a choice.”
In the coming months, the committee plans to hold a workshop to provide more information on physician-assisted suicide.
Not all share Hill’s enthusiasm about the ruling.
According to census data, over 20 per cent of West-Centretown’s population is living with a disability – a group that the Council of Canadians with Disabilities says could be discriminated under the new law.
“The judgment creates the potential for the most permissive and least restrictive criteria for assisted suicide in the world, putting persons with disabilities at serious risk,” the organization said in a news release.
“The judgment permits assisted suicide on the basis of psychological suffering. This places people with serious mental and emotional disabilities at risk, as well as people who have not yet come to grips with their disability.”
As for the argument that the law may harm vulnerable Canadians, Hill says: “What is done to protect (vulnerable people) and how one’s choice is handled is an important fact, but having a choice comes first.”