‘The Death Debate’ by Kevin Eastwood

This 43-minute documentary follows the legal team at the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) as they bring the Carter case to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2015. The Carter case challenged the Criminal Code provisions that outlawed assisted dying and led to the legalization of assisted dying in Canada. The Carter case is so named for Lee Carter, the daughter of Kay Carter, who died by assisted suicide at an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland because the practice was illegal in Canada. The BCCLA filed the Carter case on behalf of Lee, her husband Hollis Johnson, and Gloria Taylor, who was suffering from ALS and wanted an assisted death. The documentary frames the Carter case as an extension of the Rodriguez case, where Sue Rodriguez, who also suffered from ALS, lost her case in 1993 on the same issue in a 5-4 decision. Throughout the documentary the legal team at the BCCLA explains the basis for their case, which is that the law imposes an unconstitutional burden on people who are unable to end their lives without assistance. This burden results in people with progressive illnesses ending their lives prematurely before their symptoms render them unable to do so. Dr. Will Johnston, the Chair of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, responds to their arguments, saying that the right to die movement represents a triumph of public relations, but an abject failure of wisdom. The documentary closes with the BCCLA’s decisive victory in the Carter case and the emotional reaction of those who participated.

While the title suggests that the documentary will present a debate about assisted dying, it portrays assisted dying in a largely favourable light. Through its editorial choices, the documentary systematically dismisses Johnston’s arguments against the legalization of assisted dying. Lawyers from the BCCLA are always shown responding to points raised by Johnston, who is the lone voice in the documentary who opposes assisted dying. In one demonstrative exchange, Johnston equates the risk of wrongful death in a system that allows capital punishment to the risk of wrongful death in a system that allows assisted dying. Sheila Tucker of the BCCLA responds in a separate talking head that the practices are distinguishable, or even opposite in principle, because capital punishment is involuntary, rather than a request from an individual to end their own life. Johnston is not given the chance to respond to Tucker. The slant of the documentary in favour of legalizing assisted dying can also be seen in the evocative ways it argues for the failures of palliative care. For example, immediately after Johnston describes a death from ALS as ‘among the most peaceful deaths,’ Member of Parliament Steven Fletcher counters this point. Fletcher became quadriplegic in a car accident, and he compares his medical condition immediately after his accident to the late stages of ALS. In voiceover, Fletcher describes the painful and frightening experience of having fluid suctioned from his lungs during his recovery as clips roll of a medical practitioner preparing suction, as if to perform it on the documentary’s viewer. The film closes with the Supreme Court striking down the criminal prohibition on assisted death in a triumphant scene. The final word of the documentary is left to Tucker, who says of the work she did on the Carter case, ‘Do I like doing this? I love doing this. I have never done anything more worthwhile, and I doubt I ever will.’