B.C. judge halts the medically assisted death of Alberta woman

VANCOUVER — A British Columbia judge has granted an injunction stopping a woman’s medically assisted death, the day before it was scheduled to take place in Vancouver.

The injunction granted on Saturday to the woman’s common-law partner prevents Dr. Ellen Wiebe or any other medical professional from helping end the life of the 53-year-old Alberta woman within 30 days.

The court application by the woman’s partner says she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder but later became convinced she had “akathisia” — an inability to stay still — and began exploring medical assistance in dying.

It says medical professionals told her the condition was “treatable” and “transitory” and could be managed, and she was unable to obtain approval for assistance to die in Alberta.

The application says she then found Wiebe, and that the Vancouver-based doctor breached her statutory duty by approving assistanced in dying for a condition that does not qualify, while failing to review the patient’s medical history or conduct a full health assessment.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and Wiebe declined a request for comment by The Canadian Press.

Justice Simon R. Coval says in his reasons for granting the injunction that it was “clearly a situation of extreme irreparable harm.”

Coval says there is an “arguable case” about whether the assistance in dying criteria were properly applied in the case of the woman, who was granted anonymity by the court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2024.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press