Winnipeg woman with MS requests doctor-assisted death
If approved, woman will be 3rd terminally-ill Manitoban to be granted an assisted death
A Winnipeg woman's request for the legal right to a doctor-assisted suicide will be heard in court on Monday.
The woman, whose identity has been protected in documents filed in Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, says she is mentally capable of making a decision about a physician-assisted death and is or will be physically incapable of ending her life without it.
The woman has Multiple Sclerosis and is "functionally quadriplegic," court documents say. She depends on other people for all activities, including feeding.
Court documents say the woman has difficulty breathing and talking, and she is "terrified of choking to death and of not being able to draw enough attention to herself to get help."
If approved, the woman will be the third terminally-ill Manitoban to be granted an assisted death under a process set up while the federal government crafts a new law on physician-assisted-death, which is due by June 6.
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with files from CBC