As a physician, Dr. Scott Wallace saw a lot of suffering in his dying patients, but one stands out in particular.

Despite large doses of painkillers, the “tough Scotsman” winced and groaned in the final stages of lung cancer.

“He had hellish pain,” recalled Wallace, who now lives in Saanich.

The experience convinced him early in his career that a dying person should have the right to choose their death.

“I wish to stress, about all other things, that the person’s mind must be intact,” he said. “I don’t see that as an insurmountable reason, as is often claimed, that such a system is the start of a slippery slope.”

Wallace, who served as Oak Bay’s MLA during the 1970s, made headlines in 1993 when he announced he’d consider helping Sue Rodriguez end her life.

Those were different times.

Rodriguez, a North Saanich resident suffering from ALS, sparked a national debate as her case for assisted suicide rose through the courts. At around the same time, the national Right-to-Die Society was launched in Victoria by writer John Hofsess.

But the activism of the 1990s is long gone. Hofsess has retreated from the spotlight and his society, now run out of Toronto, has a steady but largely inactive membership of 400. (A similar Canadian group, Dying with Dignity, has 1,500 and growing).

Even Wallace isn’t actively involved anymore.

“At my age, I just don’t have the energy,” said the 80-year- old.

A private members’ bill on assisted suicide making its way through the House of Commons isn’t on his radar. Bill C-384 began debate for second reading in October and the vote is expected this month.

It was introduced by Quebec MP Francine Lalonde. Quebec has the highest support for euthanasia, according to a poll by Angus Reid.

Released in September, the poll asked Canadians if they support or oppose legalizing euthanasia. Nationally, 71 per cent either strongly or moderately support the policy.

Quebec tops the charts with 80 per cent support and B.C. comes in second with 74 per cent.

The question, however, was too broad to be meaningful, said sociologist Russel Ogden of Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Euthanasia, whose definition means painless killing, ranges from non-voluntary mercy killing to physician-assisted suicide under narrowly-defined circumstances, such as an incurable disease causing great suffering.

Support for euthanasia is generally rising over time and is higher when the question is more specific, Ogden said.

“It’s a consequence of the changing ways we live and die,” said Ogden, whose research focuses on euthanasia. As the dying process lengthens with medical advances, “it’s inevitable that many of us will die a slow, protracted death ... For many it’s less inviting.”

It’s also primarily an issue for the elderly, to whom the idea of death is less remote.

Given Victoria has one of the oldest populations in Canada, it’s no surprise the issue surfaced recently.

The topic arose spontaneously at a forum, hosted by Victoria MP Denise Savoie, to discuss seniors issues.

“The reaction of the group really did astonish me,” Savoie said in hindsight.

“I wonder to what extent that movement is so strong because we do such a bad job with seniors,” she said. “I would like to put my efforts first into making getting older and the dying process a more supported part of our lives before jumping to the other solution.”

Despite majority support for assisted suicide, the bill will likely die.

“It’s political suicide,” Ogden speculated. “For a politician, it’s an excellent way to alienate large proportions of their voters.”

In the months leading up to the vote on Bill C-384, only those opposed have raised their voices.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is actively seeking donations and political activism to stop the bill. The Coalition is joined by many Christian and pro-life groups, including Catholic Insight and Life Canada, which commissioned its own study released last week. It found 70 per cent of Canadians are concerned that if legalization occurs, sick, disabled, or elderly persons would be euthanized without their consent.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition was contacted for this article but did not respond to requests for an interview.

So where did the movement of the early 1990s go?

Underground, said Ogden.

The prohibition on euthanasia has fostered a creative approach without expertise from a physician, he said.

Since do-it-yourself information became widely available on the Internet, a small movement began in the early 2000s. “Prosecutors turn a blind eye to the issue; coroners and police have a sympathy,” he said. “They find ways to be lenient.”

rholmen@saanichnews.com

MPs weigh in Bill C-384

• Opposed: Gary Lunn, Conservative MP for Saanich Gulf Islands: “There’s enough concerns raised that there is still significant potential for things to go wrong ... There’s far greater risk to society than there is benefit.”

• In favour: Dr. Keith Martin, Liberal MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca: “I will be voting for it to get it into committee to open up one of the most important debates we need to have which (is) end of life issues.”