Canada's Doctor-Assisted Death Bill Becomes Law After Clearing Final Hurdle

Canada’s Senate voted to pass legislation allowing the terminally ill adults to end their life with doctor’s assistance. The bill cleared the final hurdle to become law after a clash between the upper and lower houses.

Senators approved Bill C-14 in a vote of 44 to 28, giving in to pressure by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, which controls the House of Commons.

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Canada took a significant step towards allowing dying people to seek medical help to end their lives.

‘Patients who are near death, or where death is "reasonably foreseeable," qualify for a doctor-assisted death in Canada.’

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It now only requires royal ascent by the governor general, which is largely a formality.

The bill sets out new rules for consenting adults with serious health problems to end their suffering, coming one year after the Supreme Court struck down a prohibition against doctor-assisted suicide.

The government had been given until June 6 to draft the legislation.

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The Centre told the court to allow a public debate on passive euthanasia or living will by terminally ill patients not willing to prolong their lives.

The protocols it put forward -- including the main sticking point of restricting assisted dying rights to terminally ill patients -- were much less comprehensive than proposals by a parliamentary special committee formed to study the hugely controversial issue and supported by the Senate.

Tensions rose in parliament, which at one point saw Trudeau elbow a female opposition MP in the chest and grab the opposition whip by the arm to drag him toward his seat for a key vote.

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Lecretia Seales' death came shortly after she received judge David Collins' ruling that changing laws on euthanasia was a role for parliament, not the courts.

Then while the Senate sought to amend the bill to make doctor-assisted suicide more widely available, the deadline passed.

In a statement, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and Health Minister Jane Philpott said, "The government recognizes the extraordinary efforts that were made in the House of Commons and in the Senate to ensure passage of this bill."

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"Medical assistance in dying is a difficult, complex and deeply personal issue," they said.

"The legislation strikes the right balance between personal autonomy for those seeking access to medically assisted dying and protecting the vulnerable."

Source-AFP