Deadlock Over Canada’s Law Regulating Physician-Assisted Suicide Broken
Senate accepts government’s proposal even though it previously wanted broader application of rules
Canada's Health Minister Jane Philpott, right, speaks as Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould listens at a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday over assisted-suicide. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
By PAUL VIEIRA-June 17, 2016
OTTAWA—Canada’s senate voted on Friday to accept the government’s proposed legislation regulating physician-assisted suicide even though it previously argued that limits placed on who could seek a doctor’s help to die were unconstitutional.
This ends a political deadlock between the lower and upper houses of Canada’s Parliament and means the country will have a formal law regarding doctor-assisted suicide after it was decriminalized earlier this month. Doctors said they needed a specific law to give them legal clarity and protection over providing right-to-die services.
Canada’s Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said the outcome is a right-to-die law that reflects “the best public-policy choice on an incredibly sensitive and transformative issue.”
Under the new law, an individual diagnosed with a terminal illness, or a “reasonably foreseeable” death, could seek a doctor’s help to terminate his life. The person must submit a written request with signatures from two witnesses, which then goes for review by two doctors or nurses. The law is similar to rules in place in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington, which also allow doctor-assisted death.
To avoid so-called suicide tourism, the Canadian law limits right-to-die services to people who qualify for government-funded health services in Canada.
The bill was first introduced in April, but was held up for weeks in the Senate because some members of the upper chamber argued the government’s proposal was unconstitutional. The Senate agreed to amend the bill to broaden the criteria under which someone could seek a doctor’s help to die, arguing the change reflected the Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark judgment on the hot-button issue.
The top court said in a 2015 ruling that people with “grievous and irremediable” medical conditions had the constitutional right to seek a physician’s help to die. Some senators said the top court put no conditions, such as the diagnosis of a terminal disease, as to when Canadians could exercise their rights.
The Liberal government rejected the Senate’s main amendment. Ms. Wilson-Raybould said the legislation struck a delicate balance between allowing people to exercise their constitutional right to seek a doctor’s help to die, and setting up safeguards to protect the elderly and disabled, who might be under pressure from others to seek right-to-die services.
“I’m obviously disappointed by the outcome, [but] I believe that all different viewpoints were listened to with respect,” said James Cowan, a Liberal senator who pushed for broader eligibility criteria in the right-to-die bill.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
