Critics condemn landmark ruling, calling it a slippery slope.

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The courts decision may have been unanimous, but there are a lot of people upset by it.

The main concern among opponents is that any restrictions the government tries to impose won’t hold, that this will open the floodgates to a wild west of euthanasia.

“Do you understand that this is going to be a medical routine that they practice like pulling teeth.”

Steven Passmore has been a passionate opponent of assisted suicide ever since Robert Latimer went on trial for taking the life of his severely disabled daughter Tracy. Like tracy, Passmore has cerebral palsy. Unlike 12-year-old Tracy, he’s had the opportunity to live a full life.

“It’s a very sad day for people with disabilities.”

“Instead of focusing on someone being able to kill someone else, the dollars need to be there to improve palliative care.”

“This is the Carpenter Hospice in Burlington. It has 10 beds for people who are at the end of their lives, and healthcare workers here help them be comfortable, and help their families be families, rather than caregivers . This is the sort of health care some experts say we need more of, rather than assisted suicide legislation.”

And not every Canadian has access to a place like the Carpenter Hospice at the end of their lives. The hospice is waiting to see what sort of legislation is drafted.

“That’s what we need to be focusing on in the next 12 months. That everyone has access to good quality care.”

Human rights lawyer Hugh Scher was fighting the case for the euthanasia prevention coalition.

“I think it’s a sad day for Canada.”

He says the ruling will lead to more suicides, by people who are depressed, not terminally or grievously ill; that once Canada starts allowing euthanasia, whatever limits are imposed will soon be forgotten. and he says assisted suicide isn’t necessary.

“Theres no one in Canada who should have to suffer any kind of meaningful pain because we have the means through palliative care and other supports medically to alleviate that.”

Steven Passmore has cerebral palsy like Tracy Latimer.

“If I have cancer and I don’t want chemo I can tell the medical system and I will die. Do you understand what this is? This is giving the doctor or family member the power to come along and kill somebody. How come it’s against the law.”

“It’s a sad day for people with disabilities.”

“It’s a violation of human rights.”

Over time doctors began to interpret conditions looser and looser and then ignore them.

“I want the resources there for them to be cared for. And it doesn’t matter if they have alzheimer’s or dementia.
Once you say this group can go, it’s only a matter of time before this group and this group and this group and this group.”

It’s too early to understand what the implications are going to be.

“It’s going to create a perception there’s a category of people who are ill and sick who no longer deserve the same human rights protections.”

“People looking to commit suicide are depressed but voluntary.”

“Once the genie is out of the bottle it’s virtually impossible to impose any level of measures that will prevent the goalpost from moving.”

32% of people who are euthanized in Belgium under the law there are killed without their request

“There’s the concept of suicide contagion. When you see someone committing suicide it effectively creates a domino effect.”

“Assisted suicide isn’t about pain. It’s basically saying I want what I want when I want it.”