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Dying is no business of judges

How and when I die is between me and my family. If I am a person of faith, then it is between me and my Maker.

Editor: The recent B.C. Supreme Court decision around doctor-assisted suicide highlights the danger of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the hands of activist judges. I define an activist judiciary as those with a solution in search of a problem, empowered by the Charter.

However, the real problem is with one suffering citizen hiring one lawyer, arguing one case before one judge — and the results of this affecting some 34 million souls. In my mind, this is the fatal flaw in the Charter. This is not a representative process affirming absolutes, but is entirely about relativism.

For those of us content to put everything we have into living each day we have, these plaintiffs are frankly self-indulgent.

I had an aunt who after falling broke a hip. When hospitalized, she was found to be full of cancer.  She refused surgery and treatment knowing it was her time to go. She asked to be made comfortable and stopped eating.

Even though I am not sure if death is dignified, I can assure you my aunt died when and how she wanted. That was her choice. She did this quietly and on her own, not dragging an overt failing justice system into it.

How and when I die is between me and my family. If I am a person of faith, then it is between me and my Maker. It’s not the business of some mortal who merely is appointed to the bench for only 20 to 30 years of man’s history, believing they must make new law.

And I don’t need nor want all the baggage of society to be dragged along at the end.  Just like I don’t want that either as I endeavour to live.

Steve Brown,

Langley