Suicide In Canada

Suicide. It is an ugly word, a bitter word, associated with great loss and sadness. Many people see suicide as an escape, their only way to completely leave all of their struggles behind. For some individuals with terminal illnesses, however, suicide is a saving grace, as it is the only way for them to die without having to undergo huge amounts of pain and suffering. Such a death is commonly known as assisted suicide, where a person takes a toxic dosage of medication prescribed to them by a doctor, or euthanasia, where a doctor directly ends the person’s life. There is currently an intense debate surrounding both assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada, however, the majority of Canadians agree that legalization is the right way to go, for …show more content…
As suicide itself is not considered a crime in Canada, able-bodied people seeking to end their lives may do so without fearing any sort of criminal persecution afterwards. However, individuals such as Sue Rodriguez, a 42 year old woman suffering from ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), a fatal disease that slowly renders people incapable of controlling their own bodies, did not have that option. If she wished to have someone else help her commit suicide after she could no longer control her own body, it would be a considered a criminal offense under federal law (Yaffe 53-54). This is an obvious breach of the equality rights from the Charter, as the law, known as Section 241 (b) of the Criminal Code of Canada, discriminates on the grounds of physical disability (Kluge 1). The best way to solve this equality imbalance would be through the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia, which would then acknowledge that disabled Canadians have the same right to commit suicide as able-bodied people. This legalization would allow those suffering from terminal illnesses to be able to end their life with help from another individual, without having to …show more content…
The legalization will permit disabled Canadians to gain the same suicide rights as those who are able-bodied, and let terminally ill individuals regain their sense of autonomy by allowing them to decide when they are ready to die. Legalization has also been proven to work in many other countries as well, through the use of strict laws that can easily be applied in Canadian society in order to make sure that no one is being taken advantage of. All in all, by allowing terminally ill individuals to have the right to assisted suicide and euthanasia and therefore providing them with peace of mind, they will be able to cherish the time they have left with their loved ones and know that they can say goodbye whenever they’re ready to move