Robert Latimer Editorial

The horrible, yet tragic story of Robert Latimer and his 12 year old daughter, Tracy Latimer, had brought upon much controversy when trying to make an ethical decision on whether or not the father should be punished. To briefly summarize the story, it is about a father who could not bear to watch his daughter suffer from cerebral palsy causing him to murder her and put her out of her misery. Tracy was a 40-pound quadriplegic, a 12-year-old who functioned at the level of a three-month-old. He decieded to place his daughter into his car and run a hose from an exhaust pipe into the car, and watch her slowly die. This court case raised many questions as to how a man could kill his own daughter, and would the court realize that the killing was purely out of compassion. Tracy had been operated on multiple times and at the time of her murder was due for more surgery. Her father could not watch her live like this.

Martin O’Malley begins by asking society the following questions: “Should courts abide by the letter or the spirit of the law? Would a decision favourable to Latimer legalize euthanasia, mercy killing? Would it put the disabled in danger? Would it mean the end of mandatory minimum sentences for convicted persons?”. These questions make you think about the outcome of the case and how this particular case may change the way people view euthanasia. He then goes on to say that people with disabilities are viewed as second class, when he says, “by means of a constitutional exception, would have shown that the disabled are regarded as second-class citizens”. I agree with O’Malley when he talks about how this case is simply blameless, you cannot punish a father for helping his daughter not live in excruciating pain, and you certainly cannot blame the daughter for being born with such a terrible disease. Matin O’Malley says an intruging statement: “ I've never seen a picture of Latimer that did not show him as a man wracked – if not wrecked – with pain”. It is clear to him, as well as many others that this homicide was compassionate and for no other reason would he ever be willing to lose the life of his own daughter.

On the topic of human freedom, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. Progress in virtue, knowledge of the good, and ascesis enhance the mastery of the will over its acts. It says that people have the ability to choose what they do and what they do not. There is no one forcing you to make certain decisions, therefore they need to be ethical when doing so. Using their judgement and religion it should be easy to make decisions which are the right ones. The Catholic Church creates a certain guideline for people to follow and live by, however it is sometimes hard as to whether a decision in a certain situation, like this one, is bad or good.

Alister Browne, a member of the department of Philosophy at Langara College, is very strongly opinionated in favor of Robert Latimer. He states “These expedients seem fashioned exactly for this kind of case. But they all also call for courage and compassion, and so far the only principal who has shown those qualities is Mr. Latimer.” This particular message he is sending out is arguing that Robert Latimer is the only one that could really fight for what he believes in, and

sending him to jail for something that he had no other choice for is unlawful. According to Allister Browne, Latimer showed true courage and did not deserve the consequences brought to him.

Dr.Gifford Jones, a man who is very interested in the case, and infuriated that such a compassionate man could be put away, says this: “Please free Latimer. The law is indeed an ass, an "elephantine ass," a national disgrace.” He puts it in these words so that the point can get across, it is a disgrace to think that so many murders that have enjoyed putting people through pain have a lesser sentence than Latimer. He argues this when he says “the justice system has "educated itself out of common sense" for sending Latimer to jail for a minimum of 10 years; that persecution has taken the place of prosecution.”

Marie White Laurie Beachell, the Coordinator and Chairperson of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities have a very negative strong opinion against Robert Latimer. One can say that they are biased because they have been surrounded by people with disabilities their whole lives and seen them recover. This particular case was shocking and appalling to them because it is so unusual. They strongly say that “Murder is not mercy.”, murdering someone with a disability to put them out of their misery is not and cannot be out of mercy. They then go on to say “Let there be no more murders of people with disabilities”, this particular group is very evidently against Robert Latimer and his decision.