Law Commons^™

Legislated Ableism: Bill C-7 And The Rapid Expansion Of Medical Assistance In Dying In Canada, Isabel Grant

All Faculty Publications

This paper explores the recent expansion of medical assistance in dying to disabled people who are suffering intolerably but are not at the end of their lives. The paper argues that it is impossible to separate suffering caused by an irremediable disability and suffering caused by the impacts of systemic ableism, which include high rates of poverty, social isolation and exclusion for people with disabilities. The paper suggests that this expansion raises constitutional issues under s. 15 and s. 7 of the Charter because it is premised on a view that portrays disability as potentially worse than death and thus …

Do The Safeguards In The Victorian Assisted-Dying Legislation Adequately Account For The Experiences Of Other Nations?, Heath Harley-Bellemore

Theses

In 2017 the Victorian State Parliament passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017, making it the first Australian jurisdiction since 1996 to pass assisted dying legislation. The Victorian model was hailed by the Government of Victoria as the ‘safest and most conservative in the world’, and had the benefit of drawing on over 20 years of voluntary assisted dying experiences of other jurisdictions for its development. This thesis examines the experiences of other jurisdictions and how they informed the development of the Victorian model. It examines available data, reports, and criticisms of international experiences and applies them to the Victorian …

A History Of The Law Of Assisted Dying In The United States, Alan Meisel

Articles

The slow growth in the number of states that have enacted legislation to permit what is often referred to as “death with dignity” legislation—and more frequently referred to popularly as “physician assisted suicide” laws—has begun to accelerate in the past few years since the enactment of the first such statute in Oregon in 1994.

Like much other social reform legislation, there is a long history behind it. In this case, the history in the United States dates back at least to the latter part of the nineteenth century. Not until the 1980s, however, did these efforts gain any traction in …

Antecedent Law And Ethics Of Aid In Dying, Alan Meisel

Articles

Scholarly discussion of physician aid in dying – physicians actively aiding patients in ending their lives – has noticeably increased in recent years. While conversations and examinations of end-of-life treatment have been ongoing for decades, the antecedent law and ethics of aid in dying that have developed in the United States have recently moved into the spotlight. In this essay, written for a symposium at Quinnipiac School of Law, the author takes his audience on a brief journey through the history of end-of-life decision-making in the U.S., beginning with the early days of the Karen Quinlan case in 1976 and …

Hastening Death: The Seven Deadly Sins Of The Status Quo, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

The seven deadly sins of the status quo -- inhumanity, paternalism, Utilitarianism, hypocrisy, lawlessness, injustice, and the deadly risk of error and abuse -- are seven arguments against maintaining the artificial bright-line distinction between the prohibition against assisted suicide and the allowance of patients’ right to refuse life-prolonging treatment. This article calls on courts and legislatures to follow the successful example of the Oregon Death with Dignity statute.

Assisted Death And The Slippery Slope—Finding Clarity Amid Advocacy, Convergence, And Complexity, Mary J. Shariff

Mary J. Shariff

This paper unpacks the slippery slope argument as it pertains to assisted death. The assisted-death regimes of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the states of Washington and Oregon are discussed and examined with respect to the slippery slope analytical rubric. In addition to providing a preliminary explanation of how the slippery slope argument has been academically defined and constructed, the paper examines assisted-death models from the perspective of considering what might exist at the top and at the bottom of the slippery slope. It also explores the nature and scope of safeguards implemented to avoid slippage, and shows that …

"A Perfection Of Means, And Confusion Of Aims": Finding The Essence Of Autonomy In Assisted Death Laws, Mary Shariff

Mary J. Shariff

This article explores whether the principles of autonomy and self-determination are indeed at the root of the assisted death laws currently in place in a number of jurisdictions. It is written to appeal to a very broad audience and to those who wish to become better informed about the legal aspects of the assisted death debate. The article first provides a comprehensive and comparative examination of the assisted death laws in the jurisdictions that have promulgated express legislation to regulate assisted death – The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Oregon and Washington and also includes an examination of Switzerland, which does not …

Her Choice, Her Problem: How Having A Choice Can Diminish Family Solidarity, Richard Stith

Law Faculty Publications

This Article explores a little-noticed dimension of abortion and assisted suicide (or voluntary euthanasia): how choosing to reject those options can have a negative impact on the legally authorized choosers. Women who refuse abortion may be blamed for their choice by boyfriends, neighbors, employers, and others. Similarly, infirm or dying persons may find family and other caregivers upset by their refusal to agree to assisted suicide when voluntary death seems the sensible option. Finally, the author questions whether a life chosen as an option can ever have the dignity of a life simply accepted, i.e., whether the child a mother …

The Mystery Of Life In The Laboratory Of Democracy: Personal Autonomy In State Law, Adam J. Macleod

Faculty Articles

Recent controversies, such as enactment of an individual mandate to purchase health insurance and the legalization of assisted suicide in Washington and Montana, have renewed the war over personal autonomy. Debates about the value and limits of personal autonomy also play major roles in the controversies over abortion, same-sex intimacy, and same-sex marriage. On one side of the autonomy war, advocates of unfettered individual freedom assert that by her un-coerced and autonomous choice, the individual person determines the value of human goods such as life, health, and marriage.

On the other side, proponents of strong government restrictions on personal choice …

Immortal Beloved And Beleaguered: Towards The Integration Of The Law On Assisted Death And The Scientific Pursuit Of Life Extension, Mary J. Shariff

Mary J. Shariff

This article sets out to explore the scientific pursuit of life extension in the context of current controversies surrounding death, particularly those that involve competent individuals who desire death but are unable to bring it about without the assistance of another individual. Humans are on the threshold of being able to significantly increase their life expectancy yet, in Canada and elsewhere, we have still not come to any consensus as to how we are permitted to die. After a brief introduction in Part I, Part II of this article summarizes the legal position in Canada on assisted death and explores …

Hastening Death: The Seven Deadly Sins Of The Status Quo, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

The seven deadly sins of the status quo -- inhumanity, paternalism, Utilitarianism, hypocrisy, lawlessness, injustice, and the deadly risk of error and abuse -- are seven arguments against maintaining the artificial bright-line distinction between the prohibition against assisted suicide and the allowance of patients’ right to refuse life-prolonging treatment. This article calls on courts and legislatures to follow the successful example of the Oregon Death with Dignity statute.