Gloria Taylor’s ruling is expected this year. John Lehmann for The Globe and Mail

Whether Canadians with terminal illnesses should be able to choose the time and method of their own death is a debate that none of the three largest political parties particularly wants to have. But it appears it will be thrust upon them. The Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year in the case of two women, Gloria Taylor and Kay Carter, with degenerative diseases who sought to hasten their own deaths. The court could find that the existing laws prohibiting assisted suicide violate personal autonomy, forcing politicians to fix the problem. Meanwhile, Quebec has moved ahead with its own law that will allow people to request an assisted death from a physician under restricted circumstances. And there is a bill before the Senate to legalize physician-assisted suicide that is supported by Tory MP Steven Fletcher, who has drafted his own bills on the same issue. All of which means it will likely end up on Parliament’s plate, one way or the other.