Dice Are Loaded For Pro-Deathers In Quebec

Well, this is rich. As readers know, hearings on the legalization of assisted suicide are currently been held in Quebec. Pop quiz: With a commission entitled “Dying with Dignity,” whose side do you think the commission’s on?

Euthanasia hearings spark questions over Ottawa’s role

Quebec could take a cue from B.C.’s ‘‘selective’’ stance on prosecuting assisted suicide cases, according to the head of a provincial commission who suggests the public may be open to a solution that doesn’t involve asking the federal government to change the Criminal Code.

“It’s been suggested that British Columbia has been far more selective in charging people with assisted suicide,” said Geoff Kelley, a Liberal member of Quebec’s National Assembly and president of the commission, which begins public hearings today. “Palliative care, questions of the code of ethics for medical professions, all those are under the provincial jurisdiction, as are questions of the administration of justice.”

Hoping to reignite a national debate about assisted suicide and the way patients die, the ethics of euthanasia will be debated by Quebecers through a travelling commission that will make stops in 10 cities, starting today in Montreal, before its conclusion. The commission, entitled “Dying with Dignity,” first held hearings for medical, legal and ethical experts in February. Now, the provincial politicians want to hear from the public in Quebec. more