VANCOUVER – Canada’s physician-assisted dying law is being challenged in court just days after it came into force.
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association says a woman suffering from a degenerative disease affecting muscle movement is joining the association in a legal fight to be announced today in Vancouver.
Critics of Bill C-14 oppose its requirements that a doctor’s help can only be given if death is reasonably foreseeable and the patient is in an advanced state of irreversible decline.
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Dr. Ellen Wiebe says she was preparing to help a woman who qualified under the Supreme Court of Canada’s definition of the law, but adoption of the more restrictive Bill C-14 ended those plans.
Just three days before the woman’s intended death, Wiebe says she was informed Friday that she could be prosecuted for taking part.
Wiebe says her patient, Debbie, was extremely upset with her and with the difficulties interpreting the new law.
“This is part of the problem with C-14. It is difficult to interpret the foreseeable future issue and I feel terrible about my part in what (Debbie) went through,” Wiebe says.
“I am willing to take some risks for my patients, but when the lawyer says I am at a high risk for prosecution I say No.”
Despite the stringent wording of Bill C-14, Wiebe says she remains extremely grateful for the new legislation and has been able to help suffering people.