Readers respond
Vancouversun. com readers respond to Friday’s right- to- die ruling
• Finally we are one step closer to having the rights that should be ours. I wish my mom, who died from ALS in 2005, had the choice to end her life on her terms. She suffered greatly.
• This really is insanity! Once again we have a fundamental political issue decided by the personal political whims of an individual judge. We no longer have any kind of democratic system in this country. Elections are fundamentally a fraud because elected politicians no longer have the ability to decide anything.
• The groups and individuals opposed to a dignified death always cite evidence of harm and elder abuse as part of their opposition to individually agreed, doctor- assisted chosen death. However they never provide any actual vetted evidence of this abuse and harm. I have never seen any evidence of abuse of doctor- assisted death in Oregon or Washington. Why don’t these groups tell people the truth, that their only opposition is based on their religious views which have no place in a rational discussion about doctorassisted death.
• This is not something that a judge should be deciding but rather Parliament. The present law has already been declared constitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada so it is a matter for Parliament to change. I am in favour of assisted suicide but only if the appropriate legal safeguards are in place and are not amenable to a judge- made law.
• This ruling is indeed good news for countless people suffering from terminal illnesses and being forced to linger on with their suffering. Life is precious, but forcing people to endure horrible deaths without dignity is wrong. As an individual I should be able to decide how much I am willing to endure, and should be able to seek qualified medical assistance to deal with my suffering. ... At present I have no devastating illnesses, but when I do I want the right to take considered action. Both of my parents suffered unnecessarily with their demises and expressed the wish to move on, antiquated laws at that time did not allow them to do so and removed dignity from their last days.