Category: Procedures & Services

“Now you want to crush every tiny focus of opposition”

Physicians’ Alliance Against Euthanasia Open letter to Mme Véronique Hivon

Note: Véronique Hivon, now a member of the Quebec National Assembly, was Minister of Health in the previous government and was responsible for bringing forward Quebec’s euthanasia law.

Mme Hivon:

You label as « ideology » the decision made by the McGill University Health Centre to not euthanize patients on the palliative care ward.

“The patients at the end of life are the ones who should have their rights respected and be at the centre of the organization of care”, you say. If that is what you really believe,

  • where were you when the number of palliative care beds at the MUHC was reduced for budgetary reasons?
  • When the specialized geriatrics unit was closed completely?
  • Why do you not speak out when patients are transferred all over the hospital and the city for trivial reasons, as is regularly done in Quebec?

What other than ideology could make you want to force hospitals, not only to kill patients, but to kill them in the one place where they most need to be protected?

Palliative care professionals are experts in easing the pain and suffering of terminally ill patients, accompanying them to the very end of their lives, with no need to kill them in order to do so. Now they are struggling, all over Quebec, to continue providing the same peace at the end of life in a situation where death is being promoted. Yes, promoted. This law was passed against the better judgment of those who know best how to care for the dying. Now you want to eliminate even the little safe space that is left for patients and professionals. All they ask for is one place in the hospital where there is no risk of being killed.

You got what you wanted when this law passed. Now you want to crush every tiny focus of opposition to your favourite project.

That is more than ideology. It’s intolerance, pure and simple.

We support the freedom of the palliative care professionals at the MUHC (and at every hospital) to ensure there are safe spaces for patients.

Yours truly,

[Original text and over sixty signatories]

 

MUHC to allow medically assisted dying in palliative care unit

Montreal Gazette

John Meagher

The McGill University Health Centre said Monday it will change its policy and allow medically assisted dying in its palliative care unit after coming under fire from Health Minister Gaétan Barrette last week.

The uproar came about after a patient at the Glen site had to be transferred out of the palliative care unit to receive medical aid in dying in April.

Barrette sent a letter to the MUHC’s director general last week, asking the hospital network to change its policy, because it does not respect the new law. . . [Full text]

Saskatchewan religious leaders call for freedom of conscience on assisted death

Regina Leader Post

D.C. Fraser

Religious leaders from around Saskatchewan are coming together to let the province know they want freedom of conscience to be respected throughout the assisted dying process.

The federal government passed assisted-dying legislation last week, at the insistence of the Supreme Court after it struck down laws preventing doctors from helping the incurable die.

It took a national debate, and a law ping-ponging between the Senate and House of Commons, but federal government officials say the law strikes the right balance between personal autonomy for those wanting to die and protecting the vulnerable.

Reverends, bishops, pastors,rabbis, imams and the like from around the province met with provincial officials on Tuesday and signed a letter calling for freedom of conscience, whether or not something lines up with their personal moral sense, when it comes to doctor-assisted deaths. . . [Full text]

Christian doctors challenge Ontario’s assisted-death referral requirement

Globe and Mail

Sean Fine

Groups representing more than 4,700 Christian doctors across the country have launched a court challenge to Ontario regulations that require them to refer patients to physicians willing to provide an assisted death, arguing the referrals are morally equivalent to participating in the procedure.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, however, takes issue with the faith groups’ position. “An effective referral does not foreshadow or guarantee an outcome,” college spokeswoman Tracey Sobers said in an e-mail.

Ewan Goligher, a doctor who works in the intensive care unit at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, said he considers himself a conscientious objector to doctor-assisted dying and supports the court challenge. “I think the patient is of greater value than their preference, and I cannot lift my hand to destroy that which is of fundamental value,” he said in an interview. . . [Full Text]

 

Effective referral – toll free crisis line

For any ethical medical service, what physician would set out to make an “ineffective referral”? 

Dr. Will Johnston, M.D.

“Effective referral” – what a bland phrase.  Yet the Nova Scotia the Ontario Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons have adopted this euphemism to mean “removing your discretion as to whether to send a suicidal patient to a doctor who would have no compunctions about killing them if some basic criteria are present.”

For any ethical medical service, what physician would set out to make an “ineffective referral”?  An imaginary referral?  A recreational referral?  On the other hand, what kind of physician would force a colleague to do something they believed to be wrong?

No, “effective referral” is, in our current Troubles, the code phrase for “compulsory referral.”

“Effective referral” is a red flag, useful for identifying those who find it inconvenient that Section 2 of the Charter talks about freedom of conscience and religion.

“Effective referral” is a flashing blue light duct-taped to the heads of College officials and academics who feel competent to remake the ethics of medicine in their own image.

Effective referral - toll free crisis line Pressured to violate your conscience rights?
Not sure what to do?
CALL US TOLL FREE – 1-855-239-0622

Medical professionals who hold to traditional Hippocratic medical ethics are facing difficult times.  Some of our members have been attacked in the media for their beliefs, students and residents face pressure to perform acts contrary to their religious beliefs or morals, and it was necessary for Canadian Physicians for Life to join a legal challenge against a regulatory college because its policies require physicians to violate their consciences.

For these reasons, we are providing a crisis line that our members can call in times of difficulty, when their personal or professional integrity is under attack for any reason.  Whether you are a student being challenged by an attending physician, or a physician being written about in the press, Canadian Physicians for Life is just a phone call away.

What is the Crisis Line?  By calling our toll-free number at 1-855-239-0622, members will have the opportunity to speak for an hour with a lawyer.  Depending on the circumstances, members will also have access to a network of pro-life physicians and professionals who can offer advice on media strategies, dealing with institutional politics, handling difficult ethical circumstances and crisis communications.

There is no cost to use the Crisis Line.  For more information, call or visit www.cp4l.ca/crisis.

Dr. Will Johnston is President of Canadian Physicians for Life. Canadian Physicians for Life seeks to promote public awareness of and professional adherence to the time-honoured Hippocratic medical tradition, which affirms the inviolability of every human life. Founded in 1975, we are a non-profit, charitable organization of Canadian physicians dedicated to the respect and ethical treatment of every human being, regardless of age or infirmity. We are pro-life physicians, retired physicians, medical residents, and students dedicated to building a culture of care, compassion, and life.  P.O. Box 65136, RPO Merivale, Nepean, Ontario K2G 5Y3  Ph. 613-728-LIFE(5433) TF 1-855-239-0622  F 613-319-0837