FSSH researcher publishes article in Biolaw Journal about medical assistance in dying
Thomas McMorrow, PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities (FSSH), recently published an article in the Biolaw Journal – Rivista Di Biodiritto, entitled Voluntary Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and Law Reform: A Sketch of the Canadian Experience.
In November 2018, after issuing its , the Italian Constitutional Court urged Italy’s Parliament to establish an appropriate legislative framework to address this issue. Dr. McMorrow’s paper outlines the recent Canadian experience of replacing the blanket prohibition of assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia with a new regulatory regime for medical assistance in dying. It aims to illustrate how lawmakers in Canada have pursued the project, tracing the arguments behind this law reform and highlighting ongoing disagreements over the manner in which it reconciles the protection of constitutional rights and the pursuit of particular policy objectives.
Acknowledging the significant differences between Italian and Canadian constitutional structures, political dynamics, medical cultures, and legal systems, the article identifies ways of thinking about, and responding to, some of the more pressing and difficult challenges to which efforts at law reform in this area may give rise. It expands on a research report prepared for the Italian National Bioethics Committee.
