The Canadian government has rejected a proposed Senate amendment that would make it easier for Canadians to get medical help to end their lives.
Health Minister Jane Philpott and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould
announced Thursday that the government will accept most of the seven
amendments the Senate approved to their controversial assisted-death
bill, known as C-14.
As expected, however, they stood firm on the legislation’s central
pillar: that only those who are near death should qualify for medical
assistance in dying.
The Senate scrapped that requirement during two weeks of lengthy debate
in the upper house before passing the amended bill late Wednesday by a
vote of 64-12, with one abstention.
