The Legalization Of Physician Assisted Death - 1173 Words

The idea of committing euthanasia and physician- assisted suicide (PAS) had a historical root in the nineteenth century and referred as skillful alleviation of suffering1 in Latin transcripts. Recently the theme of the legalization of physician-assisted death (PAD) in Canada boosted in 2012. The decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court in the case of Carter v. Canada (Attorney General) was the threshold of the theme. It ruled that the Canadian Criminal Code 2 prohibition against PAD was discriminatory. According to the decision, the section 241 of the Code abuses the section of 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The adjudication is being finalized by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2015 by granting a†¦show more content†¦In term of jurisprudence, assuming the legalization of euthanasia and PAD based on the court s decision in Carter v. Canada has no legal ground. First of all, there is a new law only regarding PAD, whereas there is nothing about euthanas ia. Secondly, euthanasia and PAD are two different legal terms. In brief, â€Å"euthanasia means the deliberate act undertaken by one person with the intention of ending the life of another person to relieve that person s suffering†, according to the Canadian Senate 1995 report 3. In PAS, a physician, at the request of a competent patient, prescribe a lethal quantity of medication, intending that the patient will use the medicals to commit suicide 4. Thirdly, according to section 241 of the Canadian Criminal Code, there is a punishment for a doctor who assists a person to commit suicide. This sentencing revised through a decision from the Supreme Court of Canada that declared it should discriminate. In fact, derogating section 241 of the Canadian Criminal Code regarding the prohibition of PAD is vastly different from legalizing euthanasia or PAD. The Supreme Court of Canada in Carter v. Canada case provided: ...we should issue the following declaration: Section 241 and s.14 of the Criminal Code unjustifiably infringe s.7 of the Charter and are no force or effect to the extent that they prohibit physician-assisted death for a competent adult person who (1)