Author Sandra Martin talks about assisted-dying in Canada
'We have to be prepared,' writer says during interview with CBC News' Wendy Mesley
Have you discussed your death recently? Sandra Martin suggests you do.
"It happens rarely that you die, you know, hitting a golf club on the greens or that you don't wake up," she said.
"I think we have to be prepared. And I think if we want choices about the way we die, we have to take responsibility by making advanced care directives, by talking to our doctors, by talking to our families."
Today the Liberal government tabled new assisted-dying legislation, providing a legal framework for dealing with one of the most controversial issues facing Canadians today. The legislation was prompted by a Supreme Court decision in 2015 to strike down an assisted-dying ban.
"People are always ahead of the politicians in these matters," said Martin whose new book A Good Death: Making the Most of Our Final Choices, tracks both the country's and her own evolving views on the matter.
Martin has been thinking about death for a while, her interest originally piqued by writing obituaries for the Globe and Mail newspaper.
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Though assisted dying raises many thorny issues, Martin says it's unlikely the country will face a deluge of problematic cases, for one simple reason: Most of us don't really want to die.
But most patients, she argues, "want the assurance that if things become really bad, there's a way out."
Beyond debating what the country should do, Martin says she believes each Canadian should think carefully about what they want for themselves.
She has.
"I've already asked my doctor, 'What would you do?' And we've had a conversation because you need to know that. You need to know whether you need to change doctors."
"Who knows whether I'll change my mind? Who knows whether I will turn into one of those people who just wants to hang onto life as long as possible? But I want the opportunity to make a choice. And I know that I can't just expect it to happen."
Watch Wendy Mesley's interview with Sandra Martin in the video player on this page.