“i remember her saying: ‘how can one person decide my fate?’ ” considine said from victoria.
she may have lost, he said, but she opened the door to the debate not only in canada but in other countries around the world.
“i told her before she died: ‘you fought a great fight. you brought this to the public. i think it will occur, but i think it will take about 20 years.’ ”
that’s indeed how long it took. in february 2015 the supreme court of canada ruled that the law against assisted suicide violated the charter of rights and freedoms. a year later, parliament approved a new law to regulate assisted dying.
considine recalled one dramatic story about the impact rodriguez had on ordinary canadians.
in march 1993, rodriguez, robinson and considine were at a news conference in the bedford hotel in victoria where they had announced they would be appealing the case to the supreme court of canada.
afterwards, robinson was pushing rodriguez’s wheelchair across government street.
“the cars stopped and the pedestrians stopped and they all spontaneously started clapping for sue,” considine said.
“people recognized that sue really wanted to make a difference but make that difference with dignity. it was a very important time in her life, of course, but also for canadians to reflect on the end of life and how we should be able to approach it as human beings.”