The first indication that Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, scheduled to take over on Nov. 4, may be an illiberal government is the Liberals are deciding whether to ask for an extension of up to six months to implement the Supreme Court’s decision on physician assisted dying.
On October 28, Dying With Dignity Canada issued a statement urging the incoming Liberal government to rule out asking the Supreme Court for more time to implement its decision on physician assisted dying because as DWD Canada’s CEO Wanda Morris points out,
“Another six months may seem like nothing to politicians in Ottawa. But to Canadians facing horrible diagnoses, a delay of weeks or even days can mean the difference between a peaceful death and a torturous one. . . . The desire to ask for an extension is understandable, but stalling is wrong and unnecessary. There are steps we can take now to ensure that Canadian patients have fair, safe and timely access to physician assisted dying on February 6 [2016] and beyond.”
DWD is planning a National Day of Action to send a “clear and unmistakable message” to Canada’s political leaders: “Get your act together.”
In a post on the BC Humanist website, Wanda Morris reminds atheists that we need to speak up about assisted dying to oppose religious believers who “want to infringe on the rights of patients and healthcare practitioners.” We need to speak up now because
Once the rules and regulations are in place it will be much harder to change them.
What can we do? We can
- Respond to the “Issue Book” survey before November 1, 2015.
- Join one of the ten rallies scheduled in cities across Canada
Those who are in the GTA tonight are invited to CFI Canada’s head office tonight to hear Wanda Morris explain to the CFIC community why those who support the secular humanist, atheist movement should be particularly concerned about right-to-die issues.