The Debate on Legalizing Euthanasia in Canada

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Who owns your life? In the case of Canadians, the choice to die is not in your hands…unless you decide to break the law. Sue Rodriguez, 42, from British Columbia, fought the Supreme Court of Canada, challenging the prohibition against Euthanasia. She lost to a vote of five to four. Sue later took her life with the help of an anonymous doctor. Ironically, Canada was founded upon the principles of rights, freedoms, and dignity. Why do our rights end when faced with Euthanasia? Does freedom from suffering not apply? How does artificially prolonging life respect human dignity? The act of Euthanasia poses many questions because there is an element of control. The following paper will examine why the control should be in the hands of the individual: Fundamentally, controlling one’s life should be an independent choice; additionally, the majority of Canadians are in favour of euthanasia; moreover, many arguments against euthanasia are invalid.
Patients who seek euthanasia for themselves are not harming other people. Sue Rodriquez had said “If I cannot give consent to my own death, whose body is this? Who owns my life?” (Rodriquez, 1991) Rodriguez to answer her question, according to the Canadian Criminal Code, the government does. Although suicide is legal, seeking the help to perform assisted-suicide is illegal. As seen in s241
“anyone who (a) counsels a person to commit suicide, or(b) aids or abets a person to commit suicide, whether suicide ensues or not, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.” (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)
Not only does this law control a personal decision, it discriminates against the vulnerable that do not have the means to end their lives. The law s...

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...governmental and religious bodies. Look at same sex marriages, abortion and even women’s rights. What do these all have in common? Issues directly effecting Canadians once viewed as and in some cases still viewed as wrong by our government and religious bodies. The majority of Canadians are in favour of euthanasia; in Quebec it is becoming legal. This only further proves the numerous advantages that are offered with the legalization of euthanasia. Groups opposed to the use of euthanasia like the Christian Legal Fellowship, only seek to further their own agenda and many other activists are misinformed. The arguments against euthanasia are often invalid, as more studies continue and information becomes available a lot of myths are being debunked. The legalization of euthanasia will place the control of our lives back into the hands of the individuals they affect.

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