Assisted suicide trial fast-tracking in B.C.

The Hamilton Spectator featured the following article on August 3rd.

A woman who has lived far longer than her doctors had predicted plans to hang on until her right-to-die case is hurried through a B.C. court, her lawyer says.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Lynn Smith agreed to a speedy trial for Gloria Taylor, who wants a doctor-assisted suicide.

“I am satisfied the time is urgent,” Smith told a crowd gathered in a Vancouver court for her decision Wednesday.

A four-week summary trial will be held beginning Nov. 15.

A lawyer for the federal government argued earlier in the hearing that such a fast trial should not be considered because the constitutional challenge is too complex to be prepared that quickly.

Taylor’s lawyer, Joe Arvay, said the decision to fast track the trial means his client may now have the chance she wants to use a doctor to help her end her life.

Taylor, 63, has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Arvay told the court earlier in the week that her condition is getting worse.

“Gloria is an amazing woman. She has lived much longer than the doctors had predicted that she would,” Arvay told reporters outside the court.

“She told me that she was going to hang on as long as it took in order for her to exercise her constitutional rights.”

Taylor’s case is one of two in front of Smith, with right-to-die advocates saying it is time to reconsider a 1993 Supreme Court of Canada decision denying Sue Rodriguez the right to take her own life.