WINNIPEG — A Manitoba judge has granted a terminally ill patient the right to die by doctor assisted death, a first of its kind in Manitoba.
Last February, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously overturned a legal ban on doctor-assisted death, ruling the law should be amended to allow physicians to help in specific situations.
Earlier this year, the court gave the new Liberal federal government until June 6 to come up with replacement legislation.
Until then, patients who want to end their life with a doctor’s help can do so by applying through the provincial courts.
Earlier this month, a Calgary woman received a legal exemption for doctor-assisted death, and ended her life in Vancouver with the help of two physicians. A Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta ruling said the application for physician-assisted death was the first of its kind in Alberta, and in all likelihood the first outside Quebec.
RELATED: Calgary woman forced to end her life in BC raises questions about access to physician-assisted death
Here in Manitoba, the debate on the right-to-die is far from old, but is starting to gain more traction in the court system.
Manitoba cases and legislation
April 5, 2016: The first patient in Manitoba granted physician-assisted death died peacefully according to family.
READ MORE: First Manitoba patient granted doctor-assisted death died peacefully: family
March 15, 2016: A Manitoba judge grants a a terminally ill patient the right-to-die by doctor-assisted death. Justice Glenn Joyal made the ruling, a first of its kind in Manitoba. Joyal also said the patients name, age, gender and illness cannot be disclosed to the public, as well as names of doctors and healthcare providers who will assist in the lethal injection.
READ MORE: First assisted death application in Manitoba heard Tuesday
March 3, 2016: An 89-year-old Winnipeg woman dies after choosing to stop taking her medications, including insulin, to end her life. Jess Bowness’ obituary asks the public to write politicians to show support for the broadly defined right-to-die legislation, and to urge legislators to act soon.
March 2014: Former Manitoba Tory MP Steven Fletcher introduces two private members bills: One to allow doctors to help people end their lives under certain circumstances, and another to establish a commission to monitor the system and make recommendations for improvement.
READ MORE: Manitoba Conservative MP Fletcher plans right-to-die bill
April 2013: Winnipegger Susan Griffiths, who suffered from a rare degenerative neurological disorder, travelled to Switzerland to take advantage of the country’s assisted-suicide law. Griffiths had urged the Canadian government to reopen the debate on doctor-assisted suicide. Her family members and friends continued to lobby on her behalf after she died.
October 1998: This case challenged the boundaries of the ‘do not resuscitate’ (DNR) orders. Andrew Sawatzky, 79, was admitted to the Riverview Health Centre in Winnipeg, suffering from Parkinson’s disease. His doctors decided to place a DNR order on his chart, but his wife Helene objected. When she could not get them to remove it, she took the health centre to court. She was given a temporary court order removing the DNR decision. Sawatzky died before a full hearing could be held.
November 1997: Winnipeg police find the body of Susan Doerksen in a garage in Southdale. Her husband, Bert Doerksen, was suspected of helping her die with carbon monoxide. Family members said Susan suffered from cancer, osteoarthritis and heart disease, was in constant pain and had expressed a desire to die. Bert Doerksen, 79, was charged with assisting his wife to take her own life. The trial was to be the first of its kind on Manitoba, as Doerksen faced a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. However, the charges against him were later dropped as he had terminal cancer.
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