Research

This topic of this seminar was assisted suicide and euthanasia. We were to discuss the Sue Rodriguez case, and if her rights to personal freedom and autonomy were ignored by the ban on assisted suicide. This seminar was focused on the question ‘who owns our bodies?’ This question challenges the basic rights of humans, who has the right to life and if anybody has the right to death.
Other information that I used to add to this seminar, I read an article on Robert Latimer from Saskatchewan. On November 4th 1993, Latimer euthanized his twelve year old daughter Tracy because she was suffering immensely from the disease cerebral palsy. Tracy Latimer was a 40 pound, quadriplegic twelve year old who had undergone dozens of painful surgeries in her short life span. Robert did not want his daughter to live a life of pain and discomfort, so in 1993 he laid her in the cab of his truck, hooked up a house from the exhaust into the cab if the car. Latimer watched his daughter die. After Tracey died and the police questioned Latimer, he told them exactly what happened. He was charged at first with first degree murder and then later with second degree murder. Latimer’s case gained national attention because of its controversial nature, and in 1997 his sentence was lessened as his crime was labelled ‘compassionate homicide.’ Latimer’s intentions were obviously for the sake of easing his daughter’s pain, but defence played upon the fact that Tracey had a good life, and though she was disabled her quality of life was fine and worth living. As of today, Latimer is on Parole, and did not spend 25 years in prison.