Sue Rodriguez Essay

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Sue Rodriguez: Right-to-die

Sue Rodriguez was born August 2nd, 1950 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was a Canadian right-to-die advocate who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). She was diagnosed with the terminal disease in 1991 and was told she would live a maximum of three more years. Rodriguez decided to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada to allow a doctor to assist her in committing suicide. The court ruled 5-4 against her, however on February 12, 1994, she passed away in her home with the help of an anonymous doctor to assist in euthanizing her. Sue Rodriguez believed it was a legal right and fought in court but ultimately lost the battle. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, assisted suicide is outlawed and is punishable by …show more content…

“Whose body is this?” With those four words she single-handedly launched the right-to-die debate onto the public stage. She took her cause to court without caring what society thought. Knowing that there was a big chance her plan to legalize physician-assisted suicide would not work, she sacrificed her self-confidence by staying true to her beliefs and what she thought was right. In the end she ultimately committed suicide, with the help of a physician, proving her point; that no one could control what she did when she had her own fate decided. It has been 21 years and physician-assisted suicide is still one of the biggest legal issues today and in the Supreme Court. “When Sue Rodriguez took her case to court, she changed the very nature of the decision-making process that might affect how she would live out her final days and how she would die. She tried to change the law of the land” (Bereza). This impacted today’s society and law; in fact the federal government will appear in front of the BC Court of Appeal later this month for discussion of the band on assisted-suicide. The crucial debate on this controversial topic continues to

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