Canada allows assisted death for terminally ill

Canada’s parliament has adopted a law allowing medically-assisted death for the terminally ill, ignoring critics who wanted the legislation to cover people with degenerative diseases.

After weeks of political wrangling, the upper Senate chamber voted in favour of making Canada one of the few nations in which doctors can legally help sick people to die.

Some senators complained that the scope of the law — initially passed by the House of Commons elected chamber — was too narrow and should not be restricted to those facing imminent death.