Thankfully, most of us are unlikely to face a future marked only by years of unbearable pain and incurable illness. We will luckily never be in a position to ask a doctor to help us end the suffering.
Thankfully, most of us are unlikely to face a future marked only by years of unbearable pain and incurable illness. We will luckily never be in a position to ask a doctor to help us end the suffering. As many doctors will tell you, most of us are more likely to die one little piece at a time until an aggressive cancer or heart disease swoops in to deal the final blow in a relatively quick fashion. As death is a part of life, who has not witnessed this progression and marvelled at a human being's will to fight against these unbeatable odds.
But for a smaller number of people, the pain will linger long after the will is gone. For these people, Canadians have been asked as a society to grant them and their doctors permission to call their own shots when they are faced with such an interminable challenge. The Supreme Court of Canada decided a year and a half ago that existing legislation at that time infringed on their ability to do so and directed our law-makers to redraft medical-aided dying legislation in a way that respects Canada's charter of rights.
Allowing for an extension granted to the new Liberal government, the court set a deadline of June 6 for both new federal and provincial governments to come up with legislation. A federal bill currently sits with the Senate, and unless mountains move, it does not look as if this deadline will be met. If it isn't, the world will inevitably move on anyway, and people suffering today will continue to suffer or seek their own remedies, often out of the country, to solve this most difficult of all problems.
Exact and crucial wording of any legislation is necessary if prosecutions are to be successful against people who break this law. We should also not forget the ultimate goals of this fundamental change in thinking on an extremely emotional and controversial subject. That is in circumstances where no chance of recovery or improvement, to honour an individual's control over his or her quality life and death, and also to protect the rights of doctors and other professional caregivers to refuse to carry out an assisted death. We as a country must ensure that we be as understanding and fair as possible to our most vulnerable citizens. We cannot forget that it is always easy to be judgmental of others when you are not in their shoes.
If an adult of sound mind decides that there is a line to cross when life is no longer worth it, the time has come for the rest of us to listen and act with compassion. But if any citizen or doctor makes a personal choice that they cannot assist someone to die, that choice should be treated with equal respect. To do otherwise must also be considered criminal.
Canadians must demand that getting this right is far more important than getting it fast.
