EDITORIAL — Right to die now a political issue

EDITORIAL — Canadians suffering from untreatable medical conditions that rob them of quality of life may soon have the right to choose when they die, with a doctor’s help.

A ruling from the Supreme court of Canada on Friday says doctors should be allowed to help adults who suffer from intolerable conditions to seek help in ending their lives.

The exact effect of the ruling is unclear, and will very likely be slow to unravel, because Parliament will have a year to decide what to do: change the current law or challenge the decision.

For some, the ruling is a cause for celebration, and overdue after years of fighting for it. Everyone, they say, should have the right to have assistance in ending their own suffering.

But others fear the sanctity of life has been dealt a blow, that it opens the door to manipulation of some patients who aren’t capable of making a clear, competent decision on their own.

There are plenty of countries that have similar laws and that have safeguards that appear to work. Nevertheless, this ruling is bound to become even more of a political issue than it has been, if not immediately, then a few months from now.

None of the political parties is likely to jump into the debate with both feet until this year’s federal election is over, but as the deadline nears for compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling, the issue will heat up dramatically.

Even after the legal nuances of the ruling are settled, the issue will as divisive as it has been for all this time before the court made its decision.