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Theresa Ducharme (1945 – June 7, 2004) was a Canadian disability rights activist and a perennial candidate for public office. She lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. ==Activist== Ducharme was required to use a wheelchair after suffering polio in 1953. She subsequently went into a coma for six months during her mid-twenties,〔Helen Henderson, "'Someone would have loved her and would have cared for her'", ''Toronto Star'', 7 November 1997, 1〕 and for the rest of her life required a respirator. She founded the disability rights advocacy group People in Equal Participation Inc. in 1981, and was the organization's chair for many years thereafter.〔"Disabled want their say at appeal", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 January 1995. The organization had forty members in 1995.〕 In 1981, she became the first person requiring an on-board life-support system to fly as a regular passenger on a commercial Canadian airliner. Her flight to Vancouver was the culmination of a lengthy battle with officials from the government and Air Canada, who had resisted her attempts to fly because of medical concerns.〔"Air passenger is first to ride with system", ''Globe and Mail'', 3 October 1981, P18.〕 Ducharme was a vocal opponent of euthanasia. In 1993, she asked the Supreme Court of Canada to rule against Sue Rodriguez, a British Columbia woman who had a terminal illness and was seeking the right to take her life. Ducharme was quoted as saying, "We believe in the commandment, thou shall not kill. We have enough obstacles that access to life, not access to death is our commitment."〔Stephen Bindman, "High court reserves decision on Rodriguez's suicide bid", ''Kitchener-Waterloo Record'', 21 May 1993, A7.〕 She later called for criminal charges to be laid against Member of Parliament Svend Robinson, following Robinson's decision to sit beside Rodriguez as she apparently committed suicide with her doctor's assistance.〔"Doctor-assisted suicides nothing new in Manitoba", ''Hamilton Spectator'', 24 February 1994, D14.〕 Ducharme organized a national anti-euthanasia petition in 1994, and received more than 27,000 signatures. She personally presented the petition to Member of Parliament Don Boudria, who later tabled it before parliament.〔Brad Oswald, "Ontario MP makes good on vow to fight euthanasia", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 17 August 1994.〕 In 1995, Ducharme sought legal standing for her organization to testify at Robert Latimer's appeal of a conviction for second-degree murder. Latimer had killed his daughter, a twelve-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, in an act that many had described as a mercy killing. Ducharme argued that Latimer's conviction should be upheld, and indicated her support for a ruling which gave him a life sentence.〔"Disabled want their say at appeal", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 January 1995.〕 She sought legal standing again when Latimer was granted a new trial in 1996, and accused the media of having a pro-Latimer bias.〔Sandra Cordon, "Supreme Court to hear Latimer appeal", 9 February 1996. A1; "Ducharme wants role in Latimer trial Canadian Press", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 10 November 1995, A6.〕 Ducharme also campaigned to have several public services made wheelchair-accessible in her home city of Winnipeg. She led a public protest again the provincial government's decision to privatize home care services in 1996,〔Alexandra Paul, "Home care concerns activist", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 19 March 1996, A3; Bud Robertson, "Home-care strike widens", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 22 April 1996, A4.〕 and later testified before the Romanow commission on health.〔Thomas Walkom, "Romanow gets earful on medicare reform", ''Toronto Star'', 7 March 2002, A6.〕 In 2003, she supported city council's decision to legislate a smoking ban in Winnipeg.〔Mary Agnes Welch, "Hell on Wheelchairs", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 31 March 2003, A6.〕 Ducharme was a Ukrainian Catholic, and was opposed to abortion as well as euthanasia. In 1995, she was given an Apostolic Blessing from Pope John Paul II.〔David Kuxhaus, "Ducharme receives papal honor for battle against euthanasia", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 3 April 1995; Helen Fallding, "Activist held governments to account", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 June 2004, B1.〕 She was given the Province of Manitoba's first annual Special Caring Award in 1998.〔Kevin Rollason, "Caring rewarded", ''Winnipeg Free Press'', 14 March 1998, A8.〕 Ducharme wrote a self-published autobiography, entitled ''Life and Breath''. Federal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy wrote a preface to the book.〔(MHR Connections ), Manitoba Human Rights Commission, June 2004, Volume 4, Number 6, accessed 8 March 2007.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Theresa Ducharme」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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