Declaring the judgement to allow assisted suicide\/ euthanasia\u00a0as discrimination against people with disabilities,\u00a0activist Amy E. Hasbrouckis chair of Not Dead Yet, an international organization of\u00a0 people with disabilities who oppose the legalization of euthanasia and assisted\u00a0 suicide, writes,<\/p>\n
The long and the short of the reasons for judgment issued by Justice Lynn\u00a0 Smith\u00a0[of the British Columbia Supreme Court] is that legal provisions in Canada prohibiting assisted suicide law are\u00a0 unconstitutional because they impede disabled people\u2019s rights to life, liberty\u00a0 and security of the person.<\/p>\n
The judge believes that having a disability or degenerative illness is a\u00a0 rational reason to want to die, and that those of us with disabilities should be\u00a0 helped to die if we can\u2019t do it neatly or efficiently ourselves.<\/p>\n
Justice Smith doesn\u2019t appear to believe that people with disabilities and\u00a0 terminal illness are ever coerced, persuaded, bullied, tricked or otherwise\u00a0 induced to end our lives prematurely. She believes those researchers who contend\u00a0 there have been no problems in jurisdictions where assisted suicide is legal,\u00a0 and she rejects evidence suggesting there have been problems. . . . .<\/p>\n
Justice Smith assumes that, because it\u2019s no longer illegal, suicide is\u00a0 somehow an affirmative right; and if you can\u2019t do it the way you want to do it,\u00a0 then you should have the right to have someone do it for you.<\/p>\n
But she forgot about the \u201cright to fail;\u201d that more than 90 per cent of\u00a0 suicide attempts are unsuccessful. What about the right to \u201ccry for help?\u201d<\/p>\n
The judge also seems to have forgotten about the billions of dollars spent\u00a0 each year on suicide-prevention programs and mental-health care.<\/p>\n
Nor does she mention that a non-disabled person who says he wants to kill\u00a0 himself can be committed to a psychiatric hospital against his will.<\/p>\n
To put it simply, if a non-disabled person wants to commit suicide, she\u2019s\u00a0 considered irrational and mentally ill, and is treated for depression, or maybe\u00a0 even locked up to prevent her from hurting herself.<\/p>\n
But if a disabled person wants to kill herself, she\u2019s told she\u2019s making a\u00a0 reasonable choice, and not only has the right to do so, but is even helped to\u00a0 complete the act so her death is guaranteed where most other suicide attempts\u00a0 fail.<\/p>\n
That sounds like discrimination to me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Do you agree? What does it sound like to you?<\/p>\n
Read more:\u00a0How about the right to cry for help?<\/a><\/p>\n
See also, Assisted dying UK<\/a>\u00a0 and\u00a0 Euthanasia: a creeping corrosion<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Declaring the judgement to allow assisted suicide\/ euthanasia\u00a0as discrimination against people with disabilities,\u00a0activist Amy E. Hasbrouckis chair of Not Dead Yet, an international organization of\u00a0 people with disabilities who oppose the legalization of euthanasia and assisted\u00a0 suicide, writes, The long … Continue reading