B.C. woman keeps exemption from doctor-assisted suicide ban
The Canadian Press
Posted: Aug 10, 2012 11:25 AM PT
Last Updated: Aug 10, 2012 5:42 PM PT
British Columbia's Appeal Court upheld a terminally ill B.C. woman's exemption from Canada's doctor-assisted suicide ban Friday. (CBC)
A B.C. woman who won a personal exemption from Canada's ban on doctor-assisted suicide will keep that right as the case makes its way through the province's Appeal Court.
Gloria Taylor, who has Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS, was among the plaintiffs in a landmark case that saw the B.C. Supreme Court strike down Canada's ban on doctor-assisted suicide earlier this year.
The court suspended its decision for one year, but also granted Taylor an immediate exemption that allows her to seek doctor-assisted suicide under certain conditions.
The federal government launched an appeal and also asked the Appeal Court to overturn Taylor's exemption, but Justice Jo-Ann Prowse has rejected that request.
"We're extremely pleased with the decision, especially to the degree that it recognizes from Gloria Taylor's perspective this is a remedy that is really only meaningful at this point in time," said Sheila Tucker, one of Taylor's lawyers.
In a written decision, Prowse says revoking Taylor's exemption would cause irreparable harm to Taylor, which outweighs the federal government's interests.
With files from CBC NewsShare Tools
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