Winnipeg woman seeks help to die in Europe

A Winnipeg woman is in Europe Monday and if all goes according to plan, she'll die there before the end of the month.

Susan Griffiths, 72, left loved ones and friends behind to execute a planned assisted suicide.

"If it was legal here, I'd have done it now. Definitely. Months ago, probably," she said. "I knew that my future was absolutely hopeless."

Griffiths has multiple system atrophy, a rare and debilitating disease with no cure. If left to run its course, the disease would likely leave her bedridden, blind and unable to walk or talk, she said.

"All your body parts break down and quit working," she said.

"You would have to have people do everything for you. Every function that a human needs, another person would have to do it. They'd have to feed you, take you to the bathroom — and it's horrific to me."

Already, Griffiths needs home care to help her dress and take "hundreds of pills" to manage her symptoms. She suffers chronic pain and fatigue.

Suicide is not illegal in Canada; it was stripped from the Criminal Code in 1972. But assisted suicide, where someone helps commit the act, is still against the law.

Both British Columbia and Quebec's Supreme Courts are taking it on, challenging the federal law and arguing it should fall under provincial jurisdiction.

But in Switzerland, it is completely legal. Dignitas, a non-profit organization just outside Zurich, assists people to do just that.

That's where Griffiths hopes to end up before the end of the month.

Though her family plans to be at her side, they said it is a grim solution to her problem.

"This has been a hard, hard week," said daughter Natasha Griffiths.

"I can't even let myself think about that day coming up."

Though Susan Griffiths said she is grieves the course her life has taken, she is adamant in her decision to die now.

"I don't like the impact it has on my children, but death will have an impact anyway," she said.

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