Petition to the House of Commons Reaffirming Canada’s Criminal Code Stipulations Protecting All Canadians from Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
To the Gathered Members of the House of Commons in Ottawa:
Whereas on Friday, February 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a judgment (Carter v. Canada) weakening the Criminal Code by giving doctors the right to cause the death of their patients by euthanasia and assisted suicide;
Whereas further to this decision of the Supreme Court, both euthanasia and assisted suicide are not only allowed for physical suffering but also for psychological suffering, without establishing precise parameters to limit its application;
Whereas in the Netherlands, where euthanasia has been legalized, there are every year at least 300 euthanasia deaths without the consent of the patient;
Whereas assisted suicide creates new opportunities and occasions of abuse against seniors, disabled people, and other socially devalued persons;
Whereas any law that would adequately protect Canadians from euthanasia and assisted suicide would probably run afoul of the above-mentioned Supreme Court ruling;
Whereas 2015 is an election year and there is not enough time to draft and vote upon new legislation which would offer at least some protection to the population;
We, citizens of Canada, ask the gathered members of the House of Commons in Ottawa to quickly, by way of vote, reaffirm the provisions of the Criminal Code weakened by the Carter v. Canada judgment, through the use of article 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the so-called “notwithstanding clause”).
Printable version of this petition here
Who's signing
