Sheila Noyes recalls the painful events that led her to fight for Dying with Dignity

THUNDER BAY -- As her sister lay dying in great pain, Sheila Noyes went to the library.

She grabbed a Detroit phonebook and called every Kevorkian listed, looking for Jack Kevorkian, a U.S euthanasia activist and doctor who spent time in prison on second-degree murder charges for an assisted death, to help end her sister's life.

Despite her efforts, Noyes never did get ahold of the man who at the time was dubbed 'Dr.Death'.

But Noyes said it reminds her just how far the fight for medical-assisted dying, which the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that outlawing the practice was unconstitutional and cruel last year and now has the province going across Ontario for feedback including a stop in Thunder Bay Wednesday night, has come.

Jackie died in 1991 after her breast cancer metastasized and worked into her spine. She became paralyzed, lost her speech and eventually suffocated in the process.

"Just before my sister died I made a promise to her," the member and past president of Dying with Dignity said.

"I will never stop until the laws in Canada change... I haven't stopped."

Noyes said she's grateful that Canadians now will have the chance to die because of their choice, without meaningless pain and suffering.

"It's the right to choose not to suffer," she said.

Noyes said she saw a room fraught with emotion Wednesday and a lot of fear from those opposed to the idea, which was supposed to be in place by Feb. 6 but gave Canada a four month extension to determine the process. An expert panel, with most provinces and territories, has already made recommendations. Noyes said while she understands the extension and says it's likely a wise decision, those recommendations should alleviate most people's fears about the process.

"If you look at the document it's done. All of the safeguards are in place. All of the access issues have been addressed," she said.

Still, there will likely be issues Noyes said. For example, age of consent or whether religious hospitals should be forced to accommodate a patient wanting to end their life.

The Canadian Medical Association Thursday released its recommendations saying doctors should be allowed to refuse and shouldn't be required to refer a colleague who would help. They also call for a national strategy for the process. Noyes said there will have to be ironing out of the details.

"I believe that we will look at this a year from now or two years from now and say 'why did anybody think this was going to be so challenging and so difficult'," she said.