Toronto Star - New generation driving debate in right-to-die case

The law hasn't changed, but public opinion has shifted in the discussion on assisted suicide.

Margaret Somerville, a medical ethics and law professor at McGill University, said the pro-euthanasia side has always rallied behind people who, like Rodriguez, are in obvious distress and can articulately emphasize that individuals should have the right to choose how they die.

"When you use that scenario, the case for euthanasia is at its most persuasive, some poor person knows exactly what they want and you think, 'I never want to be in a situation where I can't make my own choice.' But I tell people to think about not how you will die, but in 50 years' time, how will your grandchildren die if we legalize this?" said Somerville.