Who owns my life? [electronic resource] : The Sue Rodriguez story / by Sharon Bartlett.

New York, NY : Filmakers Library, 1994.

English

In English.

1 online resource (84 min.)

012348

This moving documentary has generated widespread public debate over the bioethical issue of doctor-assisted suicide, illegal in North America. It follows Sue Rodriguez, an attractive young mother, in her battle with ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. This disease was destroying her nervous system, causing her pain, and would ultimately lead to death by suffocation. She made up her mind that when things became intolerable, she would commit suicide. In Canada suicide is legal. However, Sue knew she would lose the physical ability to end her life as she became increasingly handicapped. With the support of the Right to Die Society, she and her lawyer mounted a legal challenge that quickly made her a symbol of the Right to Die cause. This documentary goes behind the scenes to portray a gracious yet determined woman who allowed her personal pain to become public. Her case was debated and appealed before the Supreme Court of Canada. Although the plea lost by a narrow margin, Sue had the satisfaction of putting the issue of who controls the way we die on the public agenda. In 1994, Sue had a peaceful, although illegal, doctor-assisted, death.

Title from resource description page (viewed Oct. 7, 2014).
Originally aired on the television program Witness.
Journalist, Jerry Thompson.

Producer/director, Sharon Bartlett.

Previously released as DVD.

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