LAW ETHICS


LAW ETHICS

 
Part A
What is the name of the case?
·         The case is called Rodriguez v British Columbia (Attorney General)
What was the date of the case? What was the date of the judgment?
·         The case was heard on May 20, 1993. The judgment was heard on September 30, 1993.
In which court was this case heard?
·         The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Canada
Was the case heard in another court(s) previously? If so, which one(s)?
·         This case had been heard in a previous court. It was appealed from the court of appeal of British Columbia.
How many judges were on the panel of the case?
·         There were 9 judges on the panel. These were Lamer, Antonio; La Forest, Gérard V.; L'Heureux-Dubé, Claire; Sopinka, John; Gonthier, Charles Doherty; Cory, Peter deCarteret; McLachlin, Beverley; Iacobucci, Frank; Major, John C[1].
Who is the appellant(s) and who is the respondent(s)? (Who is challenging who?)
·         The appellant is Sue Rodriguez. The respondents are The Attorney General of Canada and The Attorney General of British Columbia.
Are there any interveners? If so, who are they?
·          There were interveners in the case. These are British Columbia Coalition of People with Disabilities, Dying with Dignity, Right to Die Society of Canada, Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped, Pro‑Life Society of British Columbia, Pacific Physicians for Life Society, Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and People in Equal Participation Inc.1
Which policy or law is being challenged?
·         The appellant, Sue Rodriguez was challenging section 241b of the Criminal Code. This Code states that a person can be imprisoned for a maximum period of fourteen years if found guilty of advising or aiding a person to commit suicide, whether the attempt is successful or not. She sought that the law be declared invalid. This is in accordance to section 24(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This Charter cites the rights to life, equality and security of a person. This challenge was on the grounds that that law violates her rights under subsections 7, 12 and 15(1).
What was the ruling of the court?
·         The court disallowed the plea brought before it by Rodriguez. Similarly, in the British Columbia Court of Appeal, the judge who heard the case had dismissed the plea as well and had the backing of a majority of the Court of Appeal. This is the decision that prompted the appeal by the appellant to the Supreme Court. In the Supreme Court, the ruling was not unanimous. This decision was passed by a majority of 5 judges against 4 who had dissenting opinions1.
The reason for judgment was based on several arguments and considerations including a breakdown of the rights and laws that were challenged. First, the majority judges considered the right to life. Ms. Rodriguez claimed in her defense that she was not choosing death but the manner and time which she would die. This according to Judge Sopinka was choosing death over life and this undermined the sanctity of life. The next right was in regard to the security of the person. The majority of the judges argued that section 241b denied Ms. Rodriguez of the right to security of person as a result of being deprived of personal autonomy over her own body and decisions regarding one’s psychological and physical integrity[2].
The court was now faced with another issue in regards to whether denying a person of the ability to procure help in committing suicide when terminally ill and unable to do it on their own was contrary to the principles of fundamental justice. They noted that it is the State’s responsibility to protect life. Section 241(b) sought to protect the vulnerable people who might be manipulated to committing suicide. They also recognize that it is allowed for patients to refuse or discontinue treatment even if death may arise. However, the courts do not condone the active participation of a person in aiding suicide attempts2.
Committing suicide is not illegal in Canada. Ms. Rodriguez was not in a position to commit suicide on her own and therefore required help. However, assisted suicide is illegal in Canada. The judges argued for this ruling because making it legal to aid a person to commit suicide would danger other vulnerable people and compromise the sanctity of life that the law seeks to protect.
Part B
In 1994, after much struggle, Sue Rodriquez committed suicide. She was assisted by an anonymous doctor. This case proved to have had no fruit because even after denying her the legal permission to have assisted suicide, she did it anyway. This caused much discussion and touched many people in Canada. However, this case did provide others with a bearing and a precedent from which to pursue the same situation in a court of law.
This case, Rodriguez v. British Columbia (Attorney General), matters now because it formed a precedent from which other cases may arise. It has sparked a movement that seeks to change the law and legalize assisted suicide. It also sparked a notion among some judges that the law needs to be amended in order to make it flexible enough to assist people who are suffering such as Rodriguez[3].
There has been a more recent case that came up in the courts to challenge this law against assisted suicide. This was the Gloria Taylor case in 2012. Taylor was backed by the Civil Liberties Association in British Colombia. The case was heard in a court in British Columbia where it was ruled that allowing assisted suicide infringed section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms3. However, Judge Lynn Smith granted Gloria an immediate exemption of the law for her to choose what she may. However, Taylor died as a result of complications from her disease in 2014, without using the exemption granted to her.
Judge Lynn’s judgment argued that denying assisted suicide violated the right to life and equality as well as the right to security of the person. This law should be exempted for people who are suffering from terminal intolerable diseases or serious disabilities. This ruling was appealed in 2014 by the federal government of Canada from the British Columbia Supreme Court. This will be a clash between the federal and the provincial governments[4]. This case was not being appealed on the grounds of evidence but on the grounds of jurisdiction.
In Quebec, there is a motion to legalize assisted suicide provided in Bill 52 presented before the National Assembly in 2013. This Bill does not refer to the act as assisted suicide or euthanasia but medical aid in dying. This change of terms has made the issue a provincial matter because it falls under health. This can be seen as manipulation of the law using words, which would be a total injustice to the general public.
Passing this Bill would cause more problems than it solves. This is because it would begin as something which a patient asks for but soon turn to be an option that others seek for the patient. Because of the vulnerability which patients who are suffering are in, doctors and other members of the society will be able to administer medical aid in dying to the patient even without their consent. It could also be administered without the patient’s knowledge of what is going on. This translates to murder sugarcoated in the words ‘medical aid in dying’ because the intention behind the action would be well concealed[5].
This case, Rodriguez v. British Columbia matters now because it has brought about the issues of the federal government and the provincial governments and how they relate in terms of laws. The federal government denied Rodriguez the exemption of the law in 1993. It defended the constitutionality of the law that prohibited assisted suicide. A few years later, Parliament voted against changing the law as well. However, with this Bill from Quebec, this relation is being put to the test. This Bill violated a federal law, thus making it an issue that the federal government has to decide on5.
This is an issue that is pending in the courts and in the government in Canada today. Legalizing euthanasia in whatever form it is referred to may lead to numerous problems in the process of solving problems. An example is the domino effect. One decision to allow assisted death because of terminal diseases and disabilities will eventually extend to all manner of diseases. It would also extend to all categories of people including newborns and people who are not mentally capable of making these decisions. This would also make the intentions behind the assisted death vary to more selfish reasons5. This would cause degradation of the society.
The Rodriguez v British Columbia (Attorney General) case also matters now because it is the case that inspired Veronique Hivon. This lady is now famous among the supporters of the right to die all over the world. At the time of the case, she was in law school, with special interest in medical law. She is now a junior health minister and an active supporter of the legislation to provide the right to die in Quebec. Sue Rodriguez came out and brought this case in the limelight. It is this case that has brought about all this uproar among activists in Canada regarding the right to die. Ms. Hivon argues that medical aid in dying is simply a health care issue. But is it? This is an issue that will have to be determined by the federal government of Canada[6].
In Conclusion, it is important to note that the Rodriguez v British Columbia case also matters now because it influenced public opinion. It is this case that brought the issue of euthanasia to the lime light and brought it out for discussion among people. This played a role in extensive discussions among the people regarding euthanasia and the morality behind it. Over the years since this case, the opinions of people have changed considerably with many of them supporting assisted suicide6.

Bibliography
Supreme Court of Canada, Supreme Court Judgements, November 24, 2014, http://scc-
            csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1054/index.do
Margaret Smith, The Rodriguez Case:A Review of the Supreme Court of Canada Decision on
Assisted Suicide, November 24, 2014, http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/bp349-e.htm
CBC News, The Fight for the Right to Die, November 24, 2014,
            http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-fight-for-the-right-to-die-1.1130837
CARE NOT KILLING, Promoting Care, Opposing Euthanasia, November 24, 2014,
http://www.carenotkilling.org.uk/articles/canadian-government-appeal/
Life Canada, Quebec Bill 52 – The Euthanasia Bill, November 24, 2014,
            http://www.lifecanada.org/quebec-bill-52-the-euthanasia-bill
Sandra, Martin, Supreme Court to Rule Soon if Assisted Suicide is a Human Right, The Globe and Mail, 2014
William, Maton. 1994. The Solon Law Archive, November 24, 2014,  http://www.solon.org/

[1] Supreme Court of Canada, Supreme Court Judgements, November 24, 2014, http://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1054/index.do

[2] Margaret Smith, The Rodriguez Case:A Review of the Supreme Court of Canada
Decision on Assisted Suicide, November 24, 2014, http://publications.gc.ca/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/bp349-e.htm

[3] CBC News, The Fight for the Right to Die, November 24, 2014, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-fight-for-the-right-to-die-1.1130837

[4] CARE NOT KILLING, Promoting Care, Opposing Euthanasia, November 24, 2014,
http://www.carenotkilling.org.uk/articles/canadian-government-appeal/

[5] Life Canada, Quebec Bill 52 – The Euthanasia Bill, November 24, 2014, http://www.lifecanada.org/quebec-bill-52-the-euthanasia-bill

[6] Sandra, Martin, Supreme Court to Rule Soon if Assisted Suicide is a Human Right, The Globe and Mail, 2014
William, Maton. 1994. The Solon Law Archive, November 24, 2014,  http://www.solon.org/

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