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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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 Fri Jan 28, 2005 8:29 pm Death with dignity advocate plans suicide |
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C B C . C A N e w s - F u l l S t o r y :
Death with dignity advocate plans suicide
Last Updated Fri, 28 Jan 2005 19:56:52 EST
CBC News
OTTAWA - The lawyer for a 78-year-old man from Kanata, Ont., who plans to commit suicide Friday evening says the police are in no position to stop what in Canada is a legal act.
* INDEPTH: Assisted suicide
Marcel Tremblay at Friday news conference.
Marcel Tremblay, 78, says he is going public with his suicide because, "I feel very strongly that the law should be changed [with respect to assisted suicide], to help those who can't do what I am doing."
"I understand that the government might be talking about this very shortly ... I want people to talk about it. This'll make people talk, and think about it � and, by doing that, bring it out in the open."
Tremblay's lawyer, Lawrence Greenspon, says the police have satisfied themselves that his client "does not have any mental difficulties."
"As long as there's no assistance being provided, family members or otherwise, then the police's intention is not to intervene in the self-administered death this evening," Greenspon said at a news conference with Tremblay on Friday afternoon.
When asked why he was doing this, Tremblay said, "I just don't want one more day living the way I've been living for the last three months. There is no quality to this life."
Tremblay suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, which makes it difficult to breathe.
Tremblay said he hopes politicians will change the law to allow assisted suicide, and he wants to encourage people to think about the issue.
"I have two very good friends," he said, "close to my own age, who didn't even know it was legal to commit suicide."
Tremblay has invited more than 50 friends and family to an area restaurant for what he calls a "living wake."
Tremblay hired Greenspon to protect his family's interests after he's gone.
"After speaking to Mr. Tremblay a few times, it became clear to me that this is a person who's in a lot of pain," Greenspon says.
"He's given this a lot of thought, and this is truly what he wishes to do, and wants to do it in a way that nobody else was put into jeopardy as a result of a decision he's made."
Tremblay says he will be surrounded by his wife and adult children at the time of his death.
He wants Greenspon to ensure his family isn't charged with assisting the suicide.
Committing suicide and attempting to commit suicide were decriminalized in 1972. But the debate over assisted suicide, and the right to die, continues.
Copyright �2005 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved
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