National seniors’ lobby group supports euthanasia

Most members of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons support the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.

In an online poll, 71 per cent of CARP members said that terminally ill patients should be allowed to end their life with the help of a doctor. The results of the poll prompted CARP leaders to call for the province of Ontario, where 60 per cent of respondents live, to start public hearings on the controversial subject of assisted suicide. Premier Dalton McGuinty refused to comment on the issue yesterday. All of Québec’s major political parties are participating in a series of public consultations on euthanasia that was launched earlier this week, but politicians in the rest of the country have so far balked at tackling the politically sensitive subject.