Five reasons why assisted suicide is the most important ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada

Friday's Supreme Court ruling on assisted suicide is critical for Canadians. It impacts literally everyone

On Friday, the Supreme Court will rule on the right for terminally-ill patients to seek doctor-assisted suicide. This will be the second time the Supreme Court ruled on the matter — in 1993, the court ruled against it. But whatever the outcome, the ruling promises to be one of the biggest decisions in the history of the court.

Here are five reasons why tomorrow’s ruling matters:

1. It impacts literally everyone: The only great certainty in life is that every single person will one day take their last breath. A ruling on people’s rights regarding death will have far reaching consequences for millions of Canadians.

2. It affects people’s lives, not just their deaths: People don’t just die from a terminal illness — they live with it. As do their family members and doctors. Granting the right to seek assisted suicide will change how people live with terminal illness and how families will cope with their deaths and how doctors will administer care.

3. An aging population: In Canada, most cancer diagnoses happen after age 50, and most Alzheimer’s patients are diagnosed after 65. This puts the aging baby boomer generation (who count for roughly 30 per cent of the population) in a bind. As they watch their parents die, they are also feeling the affects of their declining health and facing their own end of life.

4. The debate has already hit home: In Feb. 2014, Quebec passed its own law allowing euthanasia, which is now being challenged in federal court. If the Supreme Court upholds its ban on assisted suicide, this could affect Quebec’s own attempts to legalize medically aided dying.

5. Public support is at an all-time high: When the Supreme Court ruled against assisted suicide in 1993, a Gallup poll showed that 77 per cent of Canadians supported assisted suicide. But by Oct. 2014, those numbers had climbed to 84 per cent. In an Ipsos Reid poll of 2,525 Canadians, 84 per cent agreed with the following statement: “A doctor should be able to help someone end their life if the person is a competent adult who is terminally ill, suffering unbearably and repeatedly asks for assistance to die.” Of the fifty or so people I canvassed in my community,  just to get a cross-section of opinions, there were eight against the concept. The people who were in agreement with assisted suicide had very strong opinions on the subject.