What’s the meaning of death? Court cases raise questions about legal definition
TORONTO — Two Ontario court cases involving people deemed brain dead are raising questions about whether what constitutes death should be clearly spelled out under Canadian laws.
The issue is at the crux of separate legal battles to keep 27-year-old Taquisha McKitty of Brampton, Ont., and 25-year-old Shalom Ouanounou of Toronto on life support. Both cases involve religious objections to the concept of brain death.
The lawyer representing both families argues the absence of a legal definition of death creates somewhat of a grey area, particularly when it comes to issues such as religious accommodation.
Only Manitoba has legislation that explicitly defines death, which it says takes place “at the time at which irreversible cessation of all that person’s brain function occurs.”