Death of N.S. woman in Zurich reopens thorny issue of assisted suicide

By ALISON AULD





HALIFAX (CP) - Canadian lawmakers should revisit the thorny issue of assisted suicide in the wake of an investigation into a Nova Scotia man who accompanied his gravely ill wife to a Swiss facility where she ended her life, legal experts said Wednesday.

Chris Considine, a Victoria lawyer who represented Sue Rodriguez as she fought for the right to end her own life, said this most recent case highlights the need for legislators to decriminalize assisted suicides.

"These cases are a cry for help and are made out of desperation," he said in an interview. "The love that this man had for his wife was immense.

"It does show the need for Parliament to address it and the Supreme Court of Canada urged them to."

Police said they interviewed Eric MacDonald on Wednesday as they try to determine whether he should be charged under the Criminal Code for any role he may have had in facilitating the death of his wife, Elizabeth, at a facility in Zurich.

MacDonald, who lives in Windsor, N.S., has said he agreed to take her to the Dignitas clinic earlier this month so she could end years of pain caused by an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis.

The 38-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with the incurable illness in 1999, was in a wheelchair and had begun to lose sensation in her throat. Her family says she survived an earlier suicide attempt last year when she swallowed sleeping pills and morphine.

RCMP Const. Les Kakonyi wouldn't reveal what MacDonald said in the interview, adding only that he expected others would be questioned by police. He said the Crown will also be consulted to see if charges are warranted.

Duncan Beveridge, a Halifax criminal lawyer, doubted any charges would result from the investigation, saying the case didn't appear to meet the legal test.

"It's not even close," he said. "If that kind of event is legal in other countries and you travel there with somebody else, it doesn't mean you've committed any offence."

Canadian law states that a person who counsels someone to kill themself, or aids or abets them in doing so, is guilty of an indictable offence that carries a prison term of up to 14 years.

Beveridge argued that even if MacDonald assisted her in getting to the facility, it likely wouldn't constitute aiding or abetting someone to kill themselves.

Ludwig Minelli, founder of Dignitas in Zurich, said his facility has helped more than 700 people end their lives, through a variety of means that includes swallowing barbituates, like MacDonald did, to self-injecting a lethal dose of drugs.

"As a lawyer, I can't imagine Canadian authorities would risk such a mistake," he said from Zurich. "Prosecution, if an action is not punishable in both countries, is forbidden ... If it's legal in Switzerland, there's no room for prosecution."

He said up to five Canadians have used the service, which costs about $7,200, and at least two others were inquiring about doing the same.

Switzerland is one the few jurisdictions in the world that permits assisted suicide.

It's not clear how many Canadians who have escorted people to assisted-suicide clinics outside the country have been investigated, but police and legal experts said they didn't know of anyone who's been charged.

The conduct of a psychologist in Barrie, Ont., was examined by his professional organization after he accompanied a friend to the Dignitas facility. The complaint was eventually dropped.

Police in Britain have investigated several similar cases, but have not laid charges against anyone who has taken a friend or relative to such a facility.

Jocelyn Downie, a medical ethicist who teaches law at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said the MacDonald case puts police and justice officials in a difficult position because they could face a public backlash if they charge MacDonald.

If they don't press charges, it could send a message to Canadians who want to kill themselves that they can get on a plane and do it abroad.

"It would lead you you to say, 'OK I guess I can do that," she said. "What I hope it does is get this issue back in the public agenda and force Parliament's hand to deal with it."

Peter Stoffer, an NDP MP from Nova Scotia, said he intends to raise the issue at the party's next meeting and force a national debate.

"I don't think this is something that we can sweep under the carpet," he said. "I think it's something we should have a wide-open debate on."

The police began their investigation after receiving a complaint from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition in London, Ont.

Assisted suicide rose to the national agenda in the 1990s when Sue Rodriguez fought all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada for the right to kill herself.

Rodriguez, who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease, lost in a split decision but killed herself anyway with the help of an unidentified physician in 1994.


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