Rodriguez Case
Sue Rodriguez, a 42-year-old woman suffering from the debilitating, terminal illness, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, wished to have a qualified physician assist her in terminating her life at the time of her choosing. Mrs. Rodriguez, 43, was an employee in a real estate office in Victoria in 1991 when she learned that she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, an incurable and fatal nerve condition that slowly shuts down the body's muscular functions.
Her case went to the British Colombian Court and finally to the Supreme Court, arguing that the ban on assisted suicide denied her constititonal right to life, liberty and security of the person. Sue Rodriguez desired that, since she no longer found life endurable, a qualified physician should be authorized to install the appropriate technological means to put her life to an end at a time chosen by her. She submitted to the courts that subsection 241(b) of the Criminal Code, which prohibits assisted suicide, was constitutionally invalid. By a 5-4 majority the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that the challenged provision was constitutional and did not violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A majority of the judges recognized that Sue Rodriguez's right to security of the person was denied by subsection 241(b) because it deprived her of personal autonomy in not permitting her to end her suffering because of her excruciating incapacity.
In the end Sue Rodriguez defied the law by choosing the time and the method of her death. As shown in this CBC Television report, it was something she had been planning for awhile. "Have you set a date?" asks CBC producer Sharon Bartlett. "I have set a date, yes," replies Rodriguez in her last interview.
On February 12, 1994, she died, aged 40 years. Her death came four and a half months after the Supreme Court, in a 5-to-4 ruling, upheld lower court decisions that the criminal code sanctions did not abridge her rights. The majority said the state's interest in protecting life's sanctity took precedence over the right to a dignified death.
Her case went to the British Colombian Court and finally to the Supreme Court, arguing that the ban on assisted suicide denied her constititonal right to life, liberty and security of the person. Sue Rodriguez desired that, since she no longer found life endurable, a qualified physician should be authorized to install the appropriate technological means to put her life to an end at a time chosen by her. She submitted to the courts that subsection 241(b) of the Criminal Code, which prohibits assisted suicide, was constitutionally invalid. By a 5-4 majority the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that the challenged provision was constitutional and did not violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A majority of the judges recognized that Sue Rodriguez's right to security of the person was denied by subsection 241(b) because it deprived her of personal autonomy in not permitting her to end her suffering because of her excruciating incapacity.
In the end Sue Rodriguez defied the law by choosing the time and the method of her death. As shown in this CBC Television report, it was something she had been planning for awhile. "Have you set a date?" asks CBC producer Sharon Bartlett. "I have set a date, yes," replies Rodriguez in her last interview.
On February 12, 1994, she died, aged 40 years. Her death came four and a half months after the Supreme Court, in a 5-to-4 ruling, upheld lower court decisions that the criminal code sanctions did not abridge her rights. The majority said the state's interest in protecting life's sanctity took precedence over the right to a dignified death.