Assisted suicide case launched in Quebec.

The Leblanc case was filed in the court in Trois-Rivieres Quebec. The case concerns Ginette Leblanc who lives with ALS. After reading the notice of claim it is clear that the Leblanc case is very similar to the Rodriguez case (1993) that challenged Section 241b of the Criminal Code. The media reports that the Leblanc case intends to overturn Canada's assisted suicide laws are correct even though the title of one of the articles states that the case concerns the: Right to Euthanasia.

The Supreme Court of Canada, in the Rodriguez decision (1993) upheld the Section 241b by a 5 to 4 decision stating that the law was necessary to protect Canadians.

Several weeks ago, Leblanc and her lawyer Rene Duval indicated that they would file a case in the Quebec court. It appears that Duval hopes that the Leblanc case will join the Carter case in British Columbia, at the Supreme Court of Canada sometime next year.

The Carter case seeks to decriminalize euthanasia and assisted suicide while the Leblanc case is limited to the assisted suicide Act.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) has intervenor standing in the Carter case. We will be looking closely at the Leblanc case and we will work with our coalition partners if we intervene in the Leblanc case.

EPC is currently collecting signatures urging the Attorney General of Canada to continue to strongly oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada. The petition can be downloaded in English and in French. People can also sign the petition online.