The following message was downloaded from the Deathnet, the computer bulletin board run by John Hofsess and the Right to Die Society.
“ In the wake of the recently released Report by the Senate Special Committee on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide…I have today sent e-mail messages to the heads of five chapters of The Right to Die Society of Canada, asking them to let me know within 48 hours if they are willing to become more deeply and actively involved in the suicides of individuals who ask for our help.
We have at present three such requests…for varying degrees of assistance and I hope that we will be able to respond to these individuals with the courage and compassion that they deserve.
More than ever, due to the lack of effective political leadership on Parliament Hill on “right to die” issues, and due also to expert advice which we have received to the effect that the chances of changing Canada’s laws are far better in the courts than they are in the House of Commons, there is a need for “right to die” activists in Canada to be willing to face prosecution for their beliefs. It is virtually unimaginable that any jury would convict under the specific circumstances of the individuals who have asked for our help. And if a jury does not convict, the back of the law will be broken.
I have good reason to believe that at least one or two Chapter heads will find the courage and inner-strength to meet the challenges we face…so that renewed pressure will be brought upon both courts and Parliament to..do something constructive about the human rights of all citizens to have genuine choises in dying…
I hope that RTDSC will prove itself equal to the challenges we face in Canada – otherwise we should be honest with ourselves and disband.
John Hofsess
Executive Director
The Right to Die Society
