IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Stefanie Ratjen

29 of the Interpretation Act, or by the act of a person acting under the general supervision of a medical practitioner, at the request of a grievously and irremediably ill patient in the context of a patient-physician relationship. [...] [35] Of the intervenors, the Farewell Foundation for the Right to Die, the Canadian Unitarian Counsel and the Ad Hoc Coalition of People with Disabilities who are Supportive of Physician-Assisted Dying are supportive of the plaintiff’s claim. [...] In the context of the issues in this case, I will use “euthanasia” to mean the intentional termination of the life of a patient by a physician, or someone acting under the direction of a physician, at the patient’s request, for compassionate reasons. [...] “Competence” and “capacity” mean the ability to understand the subject- matter in respect of which a decision must be made, and the ability to appreciate the consequences of that decision. [...] They lose the ability to use their hands and feet; the ability to walk, to chew and to swallow; the ability to make their speech intelligible to others; and, ultimately, the ability to breathe.