Dying With Dignity (DWD)

To provide more light on to the issues with the probation of assisted suicide, an intervenor called Dying with Dignity (DWD) takes the stance with the trial judge and believes in the right to have assisted deaths legalized within Canada. They wish to have it apart of the health care system, but emphasizes, just like Smith, that there must be safeguards that are meticulously enforced and reviewed. They have five submissions that expresses their thoughts and position within the decisions and thoughts behind the SCC Carter case: 1) they believe that the right to life also includes the right to die with dignity. Life should be interpreted broadly and that should also include how it ends. DWD argue that by placing a ban on assisted suicide determines

Mill is correct to say that everyone should have the right to their own choices, regardless of how it may affect themselves. So long as it does not determent the legal obligations one has for others, an activity such as choosing one’s own course of death would not have a direct effect on those around them. In addition, the entirety of having a criminal prohibition on physician assisted deaths is unlawful under the Charter. It is far more inhumane to allow one to be put through pain and agony rather than the peaceful and painless death through other methods. This prohibition essentially tells others how to live the end scope of their lives, which takes away that individual’s right to their own life without any interference from the state. The reasoning from both Smith and the Supreme Court’s decisions are fair and understands the severity of the violations of s.7 and s.15 of the Charter from s.14 and s.241 (b) in the Criminal Code, which places citizens such as Taylor into impossible scenarios where they are forced to choose between two unfavourable deaths. It has been two decades since the case of Rodriguez, and while it is unfortunate that an exception was not made for her, circumstances have now changed. There are new jurisdictions within the world that allow for assisted suicide and they have proven that such a system can work, while still achieving the government’s goal of limiting and protecting those who are vulnerable to coercion and influence. It is strange that Canada, which prides itself for its rights and freedoms, restricts the biggest right of all: of controlling one’s own death. The Canadian government must use the 12 months of suspension given by the Supreme Court of Canada to begin to create a balance