OTTAWA STANDS BY ASSISTED-DEATH LAW DESPITE WOMAN'S DEATHBED PLEA FOR CHANGE
Nov 02, 2018
By Bob Komsic
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Before ending her suffering and life yesterday, 57-year-old Audrey Parker urged politicians to change Canada’s assisted-death law.
In a Facebook post, Parker, who had been approved for an assisted death, asked Canadians to send emails or texts to their MPs, to encourage them to remove the so-called ”late stage consent” provision.
She chose to die earlier because the law now states a person must be conscious and mentally sound at the moment they grant their final consent for a lethal injection.
That means Parker would have been denied assistance if she had suddenly become incapacitated.
Despite the plea, Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says the government believes the law strikes the right balance.
The issue is among those being considered by a panel of experts in a report that’s due by year’s end but is not expected to make recommendations.
Meanwhile, ‘Dying With Dignity Canada’ has launched a campaign in Parker’s honour to ”restore the rights” of those who’ve been assess and approved for an assisted death.
”Unless they (politicians) act now, many more Canadians will be forced to die earlier than they would like to as a result of this unjust, inhumane rule,” said CEO Shanaaz Gokool.