America
Canada's Supreme Court scraps assisted suicide
Toronto, Feb 7
Canada's Supreme Court Friday
struck down a ban on doctor-assisted suicide for mentally competent
patients suffering from an incurable disease, Xinhua news agency
reported.
In a stunning reversal of its ruling in 1993, the court
declared that the Criminal Code's absolute ban goes too far in its
attempt to protect the lives of "vulnerable people" by preventing
competent, consenting adults suffering "grievous and irremediable
medical conditions" from making core decisions about how they live and
die.
The judges said the ban breached three of the most basic
rights: to life, liberty and security of the person, all enshrined in
section 7 of the Charter, and cannot be justified in a free democratic
society.
The court concluded the right to life is not limited to a "right not to die."