{"id":332,"date":"2012-06-19T08:05:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-19T08:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/vancouver-archbishop-decries-dangerous-assisted-suicide-ruling\/"},"modified":"2012-06-19T08:05:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-19T08:05:00","slug":"vancouver-archbishop-decries-dangerous-assisted-suicide-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/06\/vancouver-archbishop-decries-dangerous-assisted-suicide-ruling\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver archbishop decries ‘dangerous’ assisted suicide ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vancouver, Canada, Jun 19, 2012 \/ 02:05 am (CNA<\/a>).- Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver has \u201cstrongly\u201d urged the government of British Columbia to appeal a provincial Supreme Court decision to strike down a law banning physician-assisted suicide.<\/p>\n

\tHe said the ruling is \u201cextremely flawed and dangerous,\u201d and \u201csadly reflects a distorted view of equality rights that emphasizes autonomy over human dignity and the value of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe have been down this road many times around the world, and all the safeguards initially put in place wind up either disregarded or eventually dispensed with,\u201d the archbishop said June 16.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe result is euthanasia harms not only those whose lives are taken, but those responsible for taking them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tBritish Columbia Supreme Court Justice Lynn Smith on June 16 ruled that the law violates the constitutional rights of the three plaintiffs: Gloria Taylor, Lee Carter and Hollis Johnson.<\/p>\n

\tPlaintiffs Carter and Johnson helped Carter\u2019s mother Kay obtain a physician-assisted suicide in Switzerland. Taylor, 64, suffers from Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease and has sought a declaration of a right to doctor-assisted suicide.<\/p>\n

\tJustice Smith said the anti-euthanasia law is invalid. However, she suspended the decision for a year to allow Parliament to modify the law to make it constitutional, the British Columbia newspaper The Times Colonist reports.<\/p>\n

\tThe ruling grants a constitutional exemption to plaintiff Gloria Taylor, who suffers from Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease. She can apply to a court for access to physician-assisted suicide if she provides written consent, if her attending physician attests that she is near death with no hope of recovery and if the physician and a psychiatrist testify that she is mentally competent.<\/p>\n

\tLawyer Jason Gratl represented the Farewell Foundation for the Right to Die, which was an intervener in the case. He said the foundation is prepared to help others apply for a constitutional exemption.<\/p>\n

\tHe said he believes the government will appeal the ruling, the Toronto Globe and Mail reports.<\/p>\n

\tHowever, a government spokeswoman said a decision to appeal has not been made.<\/p>\n

\tJulie Di Mambro, spokeswoman for federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, said assisted suicide is \u201can emotional and divisive issue for many Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cParliament voted as recently as April 2010 not to change these laws,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\tArchbishop Miller stressed the need for a true understanding of liberty, which he said includes \u201cthe freedom to live one\u2019s life secure in the knowledge that those who care for us are dedicated to the service of life, not the taking of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Vancouver, Canada, Jun 19, 2012 \/ 02:05 am (CNA).- Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver has “strongly” urged the government of British Columbia to appeal a provincial Supreme Court decision to strike down a law banning physician-assist…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-americas"],"yoast_head":"\nVancouver archbishop decries 'dangerous' assisted suicide ruling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vancouver, Canada, Jun 19, 2012 \/ 02:05 am (CNA).- Archbishop J. 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