Assisted suicide advocate dies in Switzerland

Victoria man John Hofsess takes his life "as planned"

Al Purdy, a poet who lived in Sidney, B.C., died in 2000 with the help of John Hofsess. Photo.

John Hofsess, the founder of the Right to Die Society of Canada, flew to Switzerland to take a lethal injection and died Feb. 29.

One day after he died, an article was published in which Hofsess admits to killing eight people who asked him to, including Al Purdy, a poet from Sidney, B.C.

"I viewed my actions not as defying Canadian law but rather as placing ourselves into the future."

The Supreme Court of Canada struck out criminal code prohibitions against assisting suicides Feb. 2015. The practice is still illegal, though some Canadians have sought exemptions and found doctors to kill them. Parliament has until June to write new laws to take place of the old ones.

Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto and Canadian bishops have spoken out against "assisted killing." Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, has written that the Catholic Church "firmly opposes" assisted suicide.