Donald Low was a Canadian physician and microbiologist widely known in Canada for his work in the 2003 SARS epidemic in Ontario. In his YouTube video, he describes being diagnosed with a brain tumor and coming to terms with the terminal nature of his diagnosis. He outlines how he believes that it is unfortunate that Canada does not permit individuals in situations like his own to seek medical assistance in dying and explains what the procedure looks like in countries that allow the assistance.<\/p>
Donald Low\u2019s video was released in 2013, before Section 241.2 was added to the Criminal Code in 2016, permitting medical assisted death in certain cases. At the time of his video, conversation on the topic of medical aid in dying was frequent in Canada, and his story was widely circulated and referenced in multiple legal contexts, including by a parliamentarian on the physician-assisted dying parliamentary committee who stated that when his wife, a physician, heard about his committee work, she immediately forwarded him the video. The video would later go on to be referenced by the Ontario Health Minister in a Senate committee, and by Senator Donna Dasko in the third reading of the bill to amend the Canadian Criminal Code to permit medical aid in dying.<\/p>
* Addendum on 8 September 2026<\/em>:<\/p> With a 7-minute running time, the video \u2018In memory of Dr. Donald Low\u2019 was uploaded to YouTube<\/em> on 4 September 2013 by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer<\/em> (CPAC). Created by the federal government as a policy experiment in 2006, CPAC is a nonprofit that, although funded by Health Canada<\/em>, has worked independently \u2018to move Canada\u2019s cancer strategy into action\u2019. Dr. Low\u2019s testimony, containing his plea for assisted dying, was part of \u2018The Truth of It\u2019 \u2013 a series of videos featuring Canadians who shared their stories about what it is like to have cancer. Low begins by introducing himself as an \u2018infectious disease internal medicine physician at Mount Sinai Hospital\u2026 diagnosed as having a brain stem tumour\u2019. While the camera remains mostly still, the framing alternates between a medium shot and close-ups of Low \u2013 sometimes also cutting to family photos, as if we were privy to an intimate slideshow. Wearing jeans and a blue-striped polo, Low is sitting on a slate-blue couch with a burgundy throw and brown tartan pillows; artwork is visible in the background. Even if his crossed legs and fingers seem relaxed, we are immediately struck by his having one eye closed and the other held open by a piece of medical tape. The video is edited into segments: \u2018How will I die?\u2019; \u2018Physician-assisted death\u2019; and \u2018Hope\u2019. Low\u2019s speaking style is matter-of-fact, conveying the same frank authoritativeness he became known for as a public servant: \u2018the prognosis of this type of tumour is bad\u2026 And what worries me is how I\u2019m going to die. I\u2019m not afraid of dying\u2026 I just don\u2019t want [it] to be a long protracted-out process where I\u2019m unable to carry out my normal bodily functions.\u2019 After mentioning countries where the use of narcotics is accepted to \u2018give you a very simple way out\u2019, he declares himself \u2018frustrated, not being able to have control of my own life, not being able to make the decision for myself when enough is enough\u2019. He ventures it would \u2018be a long time before we mature to a level where we accept dying with dignity\u2019. According to a 2015 piece in Hospital News<\/em>, \u2018for the first time in his life, Dr. Donald Low was wrong\u2019; Low would die 8 days after recording that video, but medical aid in dying would be legalized soon after \u2013 by Qu\u00e9bec in 2014\u20132015 and by the federal government in 2015\u20132016 (see related entries about Manon Brunelle and Sue Rodriguez). Gathering 30,000 views in 1 day, Low\u2019s video played a definite part in the legalization effort \u2013 as did his widow, Maureen Taylor, who co-chaired an Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying and was featured in the 2016 CBC documentary Road to Mercy<\/em>.<\/p>","cover":{"ratio":1.4237668161434978,"url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/media\/pages\/visual\/in-memory-of-dr-donald-low\/ee8bc3eeb3-1715723520\/screen-shot-2024-05-14-at-5.51.34-pm-2410x-q90.png","caption":""},"data":[{"title":"Title","value":"\u2018In memory of Dr. Donald Low\u2019 by Canadian Partnership Against Cancer"},{"title":"Author","value":"Canadian Partnership Against Cancer"},{"title":"Year","value":"2013"},{"title":"Language","value":"English"},{"title":"Tags","value":"Beyond the Grave \u2022 Fear of Being a Burden \u2022 High Profile Cases \u2022 Short Video Statement"},{"title":"Legislative context","value":"Criminal Code, 1985, s 241 (Canada)"},{"title":"Author of entry","value":"Jacob Shannon, addendum by Carlos A. Pittella"},{"title":"First published","value":"01.01.2024"},{"title":"Last updated","value":"10.09.2026"}],"toggles":[{"title":"Reviews","list":[{"text":"\u2018SARS Doctor Donald Low\u2019s Posthumous Plea for Assisted Suicide\u2019, CBC News, 2013","link":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20140228110956\/http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/sars-doctor-donald-low-s-posthumous-plea-for-assisted-suicide-1.1866332","pathname":"web.archive.org"},{"text":"Carmen Chai, \u2018SARS Doctor Donald Low Urges Canadians to Legalize Assisted Suicide in Posthumous Message\u2019, Global News, 2013","link":"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/860759\/sars-doctor-donald-low-urges-canadians-to-legalize-assisted-suicide-in-posthumous-message\/","pathname":"globalnews.ca"}]},{"title":"Media citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018The assisted dying debate: Understanding the Supreme Court ruling\u2019, Hospital News, 2015","link":"https:\/\/hospitalnews.com\/the-assisted-dying-debate-understanding-the-supreme-court-ruling\/","pathname":"hospitalnews.com"},{"text":"\u2018Widow of Dr. Donald Low lends voice to lift ban on assisted-suicide\u2019, Global News, 2014","link":"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/1524867\/wife-of-late-dr-donald-low-to-seek-lift-of-ban-on-assisted-suicide\/","pathname":"globalnews.ca"},{"text":"\u2018Who owns my life?: Sue Rodriguez changed how we think\u2019, Windsor Star, September 2013","link":"https:\/\/windsorstar.com\/life\/who-owns-my-life-sue-rodriguez-changed-how-we-think","pathname":"windsorstar.com"},{"text":"\u2018Dr. Donald Low\u2019s widow to continue end-of-life fight\u2019, CBC News, 26 September 2013","link":"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/dr-donald-low-s-widow-to-continue-end-of-life-fight-1.1867747","pathname":"cbc.ca"},{"text":"\u2018SARS Doctor Donald Low Video Ignites Assisted-Suicide Debate\u2019, CBC News \u2013 Your Community Blog, 2013","link":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20140408131204\/https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/newsblogs\/yourcommunity\/2013\/09\/sars-doctor-donald-low-video-ignites-assisted-suicide-debate.html","pathname":"web.archive.org"},{"text":"\u2018Dr. Donald Low\u2019s posthumous plea for assisted suicide\u2019, CBC News: The National, 24 September 2013","link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=hqpfdxrtuY0","pathname":"youtube.com"}]},{"title":"Interest Group citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018Death and Writing: Writing Obituaries, Webinar with Sandra Martin\u2019, Dying with Dignity Canada, 4 November 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.dyingwithdignity.ca\/education-resources\/conference_death_and_writing_recording_november2021\/","pathname":"dyingwithdignity.ca"},{"text":"Tony Reid, \u2018Reflections from a provider of medical assistance in dying\u2019, Canadian Family Physician Journal, 64(9), 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6135143\/","pathname":"ncbi.nlm.nih.gov"},{"text":"\u2018At The Heart of Change \u2013 2017 Annual Report\u2019, Dying with Dignity Canada, 2017","link":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220717111933\/https:\/\/www.dyingwithdignity.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/DWDC_2017_AnnualReport.pdf","pathname":"web.archive.org"},{"text":"\u2018Watching someone suffer takes a lot out of loved ones\u2019, Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, March-April 2015","link":"https:\/\/rnao.ca\/resources\/rnj\/issues\/marchapril-2015\/Donald-Low","pathname":"rnao.ca"},{"text":"Maureen Taylor & Sandra Martin, \u2018Whose Death Is It Anyway? Perspectives on End-of-Life in Canada\u2019, Healthcare Papers Journal, 14(1), 2014","link":"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/26871525\/","pathname":"pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov"},{"text":"James E. Read, \u2018Dying with Dignity, When people wish to end their lives, should it be legal for physicians to assist them?\u2019, Salvationist, 2013","link":"https:\/\/salvationist.ca\/articles\/2013\/09\/dyingwithdignity\/","pathname":"salvationist.ca"}]},{"title":"Legal and Paralegal citations","list":[{"text":"Senate of Canada, \u2018Bill to Amend\u2014Third Reading\u2014Debate\u2019 (Bill C-7), 16 February 2021 (Hon Donna Dasko)","link":"https:\/\/sencanada.ca\/en\/senators\/cormier-rene\/interventions\/554572\/26?context=1","pathname":"sencanada.ca"},{"text":"Maureen Taylor, \u2018Brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Bill C-14: An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make related amendments to other Acts (medical assistance in dying)\u2019, 6 June 2016","link":"https:\/\/www.ourcommons.ca\/Content\/Committee\/421\/JUST\/Brief\/BR8241525\/br-external\/TaylorMaureen-e.pdf","pathname":"ourcommons.ca"},{"text":"David Baker, \u2018Response to Questions posed by Hon Serge Joyal\u2019 (Brief to Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying), 24 February 2016","link":"https:\/\/www.ourcommons.ca\/Content\/Committee\/421\/PDAM\/Brief\/BR8092221\/br-external\/2016-02-03_follow-up_David_Baker_e-e.pdf","pathname":"ourcommons.ca"},{"text":"Special Joint Committee on Physician-Assisted Dying, \u2018Evidence\u2019, 42-1, no. 5, 26 January 2016 (John Aldag)","link":"https:\/\/www.parl.ca\/Content\/Committee\/421\/PDAM\/Evidence\/EV8073918\/PDAMEV05-E.PDF","pathname":"parl.ca"},{"text":"Senate of Canada, \u2018Criminal Code | Bill to Amend\u2014Second Reading\u2014Debate Continued\u2019 (Bill S-225), Debates of the Senate, 41-2, vol. 149, no. 118, 18 February 2015 (Hon Jos\u00e9e Verner)","link":"https:\/\/sencanada.ca\/en\/content\/sen\/chamber\/412\/debates\/118db_2015-02-18-e","pathname":"sencanada.ca"},{"text":"Jennifer Gibson & Maureen Taylor (Co-Chairs), \u2018Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying \u2013 Final Report\u2019, 30 November 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.hss.gov.nt.ca\/sites\/hss\/files\/pt-expert-advisory-group-pad.pdf","pathname":"hss.gov.nt.ca"}]}]}