Stand up for suffering Canadians
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Dear friends and supporters,
It is with heavy but determined hearts that we reach out to you today.
The federal government has left seriously ill Canadians with no choice but to go back to court to win back a right they have already won. As we have for more than two decades, the BCCLA will stand with them.
We are going to court to challenge the new legislation on assisted dying (Bill C-14), a restrictive federal law that violates the rights of suffering Canadians.
But we can’t do it without your help. We need to raise $25,000 to start work on this case. Donate now, to support compassion and respect for choice.
The BCCLA is launching the legal challenge with Julia Lamb, a 25 year old B.C. woman who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (“SMA”), a progressive neurodegenerative disease with no known cure or effective treatment.
Julia is free-spirited, creative and independent. She has a fulfilling job as a marketing assistant for a fashion company and a close network of friends and family. However, Julia must rely on her home care aides for assistance with all her daily living activities, including bathing, dressing, using the washroom and preparing meals. She experiences frequent pain from muscle contractures. She suffers from falls and repeated broken bones on account of severe osteoporosis. She has breathing difficulties.
In the last couple of years, Julia has become more and more concerned about her declining health. She feels a shadow looming over her. She fears the worst possible version of her future – one where she suffers increased pain and discomfort, has difficulty breathing sufficiently well on her own, loses her independence and loses her ability to express herself.
Julia wants the peace of mind of knowing that if her suffering becomes intolerable, she will have the right to seek medical assistance in dying. Show your support by donating today.
The Supreme Court directed that medical assistance in dying should be available to people to like Julia. The court ruled that clearly consenting, competent adults with “grievous and irremediable” medical conditions that are enduring intolerable suffering have the right to medical assistance in dying.
But the government of Canada has abandoned Canadians who had struggled for years for their right to compassion and respect for choice at the end of life.
The new assisted dying law restricts access in medical assistance in dying only to those Canadians whose illness is terminal and who are near death.
If Julia’s suffering becomes unbearable, she may become trapped in her body. She does not want to be forced to end her life through painful, violent or drastic means. She believes she should have the right to have a compassionate and peaceful death with a physician’s assistance.
The government claimed that taking people like Julia’s Charter rights away was a “balanced” approach. We know that it is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
That's why we're standing with Julia and other seriously ill Canadians to challenge the law.
But we cannot do it alone.
When we won at the Supreme Court of Canada last year, we did not anticipate that we would need to re-litigate this issue. We are spread thin.
We need your help to raise $25,000 to start working on this case.
We can never know in advance exactly what a case will cost, but you are making this case happen, so we want to be upfront and transparent with you. Our incredible pro bono lawyer team is working for free, but we still need to raise funds for a whole range of legal costs such as court filing fees, court reporters, public education, trial transcript fees, photocopies and travel for experts and witnesses. The costs quickly add up.
We’re a small team, unaffiliated with any other organization in the country. We exist, and are able to do our work, only because of the generous donations of our supporters.
We need your help today. Please donate. Please share your personal experiences with us. If you are a critically ill Canadian who would like access to medical assistance in dying but you, too, have been left behind; please let us know if you are interested in helping this case. Email our director of community engagement, Charlotte Kingston, at [email redacted] or call (604) [phone redacted] to leave a confidential message.
Note: This fundraiser is being run by the BC Civil Liberties Association, and the proceeds will go towards the costs of the BCCLA and Ms. Lamb's court case. In our fundraiser updates, you can read more about exactly how these funds will be spent. Donations to this campaign will be fully tax receipted. We will be doing this manually, so you can expect the receipt via email in a few weeks. If you have any questions about donations, or would prefer to make a contribution by cheque, contact our supporter relations coordinator Catherine Hart at [phone redacted], or email [email redacted].
**We are happy to receive donations by cheque if you would prefer, but please note than in the event of a Canada Post lockout/work stoppage, receipt of your donation may be delayed.
It is with heavy but determined hearts that we reach out to you today.
The federal government has left seriously ill Canadians with no choice but to go back to court to win back a right they have already won. As we have for more than two decades, the BCCLA will stand with them.
We are going to court to challenge the new legislation on assisted dying (Bill C-14), a restrictive federal law that violates the rights of suffering Canadians.
But we can’t do it without your help. We need to raise $25,000 to start work on this case. Donate now, to support compassion and respect for choice.
The BCCLA is launching the legal challenge with Julia Lamb, a 25 year old B.C. woman who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (“SMA”), a progressive neurodegenerative disease with no known cure or effective treatment.
Julia is free-spirited, creative and independent. She has a fulfilling job as a marketing assistant for a fashion company and a close network of friends and family. However, Julia must rely on her home care aides for assistance with all her daily living activities, including bathing, dressing, using the washroom and preparing meals. She experiences frequent pain from muscle contractures. She suffers from falls and repeated broken bones on account of severe osteoporosis. She has breathing difficulties.
In the last couple of years, Julia has become more and more concerned about her declining health. She feels a shadow looming over her. She fears the worst possible version of her future – one where she suffers increased pain and discomfort, has difficulty breathing sufficiently well on her own, loses her independence and loses her ability to express herself.
Julia wants the peace of mind of knowing that if her suffering becomes intolerable, she will have the right to seek medical assistance in dying. Show your support by donating today.
The Supreme Court directed that medical assistance in dying should be available to people to like Julia. The court ruled that clearly consenting, competent adults with “grievous and irremediable” medical conditions that are enduring intolerable suffering have the right to medical assistance in dying.
But the government of Canada has abandoned Canadians who had struggled for years for their right to compassion and respect for choice at the end of life.
The new assisted dying law restricts access in medical assistance in dying only to those Canadians whose illness is terminal and who are near death.
If Julia’s suffering becomes unbearable, she may become trapped in her body. She does not want to be forced to end her life through painful, violent or drastic means. She believes she should have the right to have a compassionate and peaceful death with a physician’s assistance.
The government claimed that taking people like Julia’s Charter rights away was a “balanced” approach. We know that it is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
That's why we're standing with Julia and other seriously ill Canadians to challenge the law.
But we cannot do it alone.
When we won at the Supreme Court of Canada last year, we did not anticipate that we would need to re-litigate this issue. We are spread thin.
We need your help to raise $25,000 to start working on this case.
We can never know in advance exactly what a case will cost, but you are making this case happen, so we want to be upfront and transparent with you. Our incredible pro bono lawyer team is working for free, but we still need to raise funds for a whole range of legal costs such as court filing fees, court reporters, public education, trial transcript fees, photocopies and travel for experts and witnesses. The costs quickly add up.
We’re a small team, unaffiliated with any other organization in the country. We exist, and are able to do our work, only because of the generous donations of our supporters.
We need your help today. Please donate. Please share your personal experiences with us. If you are a critically ill Canadian who would like access to medical assistance in dying but you, too, have been left behind; please let us know if you are interested in helping this case. Email our director of community engagement, Charlotte Kingston, at [email redacted] or call (604) [phone redacted] to leave a confidential message.
Note: This fundraiser is being run by the BC Civil Liberties Association, and the proceeds will go towards the costs of the BCCLA and Ms. Lamb's court case. In our fundraiser updates, you can read more about exactly how these funds will be spent. Donations to this campaign will be fully tax receipted. We will be doing this manually, so you can expect the receipt via email in a few weeks. If you have any questions about donations, or would prefer to make a contribution by cheque, contact our supporter relations coordinator Catherine Hart at [phone redacted], or email [email redacted].
**We are happy to receive donations by cheque if you would prefer, but please note than in the event of a Canada Post lockout/work stoppage, receipt of your donation may be delayed.
Organizer
BC Civil Liberties Association .
Organizer
Vancouver, BC