VANCOUVER - One of two court actions pushing for the right to assisted suicide has been dismissed by a B.C. Supreme Court judge on Wednesday.So, it's merely merging the two separate challenges into a single court case. Which still has a chance to go through. And what happens then?
Judge Lynn Smith ruled the plaintiff, an organization called Farewell Foundation, did not have standing to pursue legalizing assisted suicide, but can submit an application to intervene in the second case, headed by B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
Since the foundation hadn't yet provided any assisted suicide services, the justice ruled its case as "hypothetical" and without standing.
But Russel Ogden, Farewell Foundation director, said he anticipated the ruling and had already started preparing an intervention application days in advance.
"This is nothing less than a victory," Ogden said. "It's an opportunity for us to move our interests forward."
The Farewell Foundation has until Sept. 2 to apply.
Intervention will allow the foundation to present their side in BCCLA's case.
So far the government is committed not to reopen the debate on euthanasia. But what happens if instead of the debate we end up with the precedent-setting ruling handed down by the court (just the way it was with the definition of marriage)? Will the lawmakers have the guts to use the non-withstanding clause or will they choose once again to distance themselves from the debate, (either leaving a legal vacuum on the subject, or eventually rubberstamping the ruling,) arguing that "it's not them, it's the court that has made the decision"?...
We must demand unconditional pro-life stance from our politicians. If being Social Conservative and pro-life for them means merely not making things worse - that's not enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment