Marcel Tremblay said an incurable lung disease robbed him of any happiness in life and late Friday night the 78-year-old followed through with his very public
plan to take his own life – a move he hoped would spark debate about the right-to-die issue.
At 11:51pm Tremblay (pictured) was pronounced dead at his home in an Ottawa suburb, he placed a helium-filled bag over his head. He said his family supported his controversial decision and before his death he attended a goodbye gathering, which he called a living wake, with his friends and relatives where he enjoyed a couple of beers, a crabcake and two shrimp as his last meal.
He then held an impromptu news conference outside of his home, where he assured the public he had no second thoughts about his decision.
"I'm 110 per cent positive of what I want to do and I'm justified in my thinking of why I want to do it," he explained.
Tremblay said it would be a “good death and not one in agony from not being able to breathe anymore.”
He explained that he felt like he was “existing” and not “living” and that there was no reason to continue his life.
Tremblay hoped his actions would fuel debate about the issue of assisted suicide, which is illegal in Canada.
"The vast majority of people who suffer terminal illnesses are not in a position where they are physically able to do what he intends to do and that's a very big part of the reason why he's decided to be very public about his intentions," Tremblay’s lawyer Lawrence Greenspon said.
The retired businessman said even those who support his cause are uncomfortable talking about suicide.
"They all say: `Don't call the police, don't tell anybody, go in the corner and do it,'" he said. "We're never going to get that law changed if everybody does that.”
Since Tremblay wouldn't get any help killing himself, there would be no crime, Greenspon said before his client's death.
