OTTAWA, April 19, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Yesterday the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the case of Toronto homosexual/AIDS activist James Wakeford who was requesting legal assisted suicide. The case, James Wakeford – v. – Attorney General of Canada was dismissed without comment by Justices L’Heureux-Dubé, Bastarache and Binnie JJ.
The Supreme Court of Canada had already decided on the assisted suicide question in 1993 when it rejected the appeal of Lou Gehrig’s disease sufferer Sue Rodriguez, noting that laws against assisted suicide did not infringe her constitutional rights. Wakeford’s lawyer, David Corbett, insisted that the case was different from that of Rodriguez since Wakeford is be able to self-administer the lethal drugs whereas Rodriguez was unable to do so.
Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition told LifeSite that the Supreme Court dismissal is “great news” and shows “the Supreme Court is willing, in this instance, to protect vulnerable Canadians.”
See the London Free Press coverage: https://www.canoe.ca/LondonNews/lf.lf-04-19-0068.html