Groups for and against doctor assisted suicide are reacting to news from the Marois government that it plans to introduce legislation to decriminalize it. 

George Buscemi, president of Quebec Life Coalition, worries that a law legalizing doctor assisted suicide will be abused by doctors and will put pressue on the vulnerable.

"It will increase the pressure on the old and the vulnerable to take a decision that maybe they don't want to take but are being told that it's the best thing to do."

But that is not the view shared by Helene Bolduc of the Dying with Dignity group. She says people should have the right to choose when they want to go. 

"We should be able to help someone who is really suffering, to alleviate their pain, and make them go clearly."

So the fact that it might not longer be a crime to do that, she says, is something to be happy about.

Photo: Flickr user Pink Sherbet Photography