Vancouver-based writer Linda Svendsen says she was captivated by the story of Sue Rodriguez – a b.c. woman with Lou Gehrig’s Disease whose battle for physician-assisted suicide went to the Supreme Court – and wanted to have a hand in bringing it to television.

‘I was very drawn to her [Rodriguez’s] story,’ says Svendsen. ‘I had been aware of some of the news coverage Sue has had, but it was when I read the book on which the script was based, Uncommon Will, I saw the whole story. Then I realized what was going on in her marriage and with her child and with her own family. I felt that she was really a more compelling figure than just a movie-of-the-week protagonist.’

To write the script convincingly and keep in consideration the views of all the friends, family and lawyers involved, Svendsen conducted extensive interviews with the people depicted in the film. She says for a dramatic piece based on a real happening, like At the End of the Day: The Sue Rodriguez Story, it is imperative to get it right the first time.

‘You cannot tell a lie,’ says Svendsen. ‘Because the story was so up-front in the Canadian audience’s minds, there were things I could not do. I was handcuffed in terms of what I could do with the plot. I couldn’t have her win the Supreme Court case.’

After researching the story and conducting the appropriate interviews (some were even conducted with people not depicted in the film to gain further insight and background), Svendsen admits she began to feel for the characters and tried to be as respectful as possible in the way they were represented in the script.

‘I was much more cautious with what I did with the characters,’ she says. ‘If I was doing a fictional drama that I was making up, I’d probably go for broke dramatically. I was cognizant of the fact that she has a family and they have feelings and everyone did their best in the situation.’

At The End of the Day is up for three Geminis, including best writer in a dramatic program or miniseries for Svendsen.

On the horizon for Svendsen, also the chair of the writing program at the University of British Columbia, is a feature based on her book of short stories, Marine Life, to be produced by Crescent Entertainment.