Category: Proposed Laws

Manitoba bill aims to protect staff unwilling to offer assisted death

Doctors or nurses who refuse to help patient die protected from repercussions under new legislation

CBC News

Medical professionals in Manitoba who refuse to help terminally ill patients die will be protected from reprisals under new legislation introduced Tuesday.

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives said Bill 34, The Medical Assistance in Dying (Protection for Health Professionals and Others) Act, will ensure staff cannot be compelled to go against their own religious or ethical beliefs.

“The legislation will protect the rights of those who do not wish to participate in medically assisted death for conscience, faith or other reasons,” Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said.

The move follows announcements last year from two Winnipeg faith-based hospitals, Concordia Hospital (Anabaptist-Mennonite) and St. Boniface Hospital (Catholic), which said they will not provide the service to patients. . . [Full text]

 

Manitoba bill aims to protect staff unwilling to offer assisted death

Doctors or nurses who refuse to help patient die protected from repercussions under new legislation

CBC News

Medical professionals in Manitoba who refuse to help terminally ill patients die will be protected from reprisals under new legislation introduced Tuesday.

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives said Bill 34, the The Medical Assistance in Dying (Protection for Health Professionals and Others) Act, will ensure staff cannot be compelled to go against their own religious or ethical beliefs.

“The legislation will protect the rights of those who do not wish to participate in medically assisted death for conscience, faith or other reasons,” Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said. . . [Full text]

 

Participating in medically assisted death not mandatory for health-care workers

New provincial bill similar to federal law

Winnipeg Free Press

Larry Kusch

The provincial government introduced legislation Tuesday that would prevent sanctions against a health professional who refuses to participate in a medically assisted death.

In introducing Bill 34, The Medical Assistance in Dying (Protection for Health Professionals and Others) Act, Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said it would ensure medical professionals are not disciplined for their beliefs.

“The legislation will protect the rights of those who do not wish to participate in a medically assisted death for conscious, faith or other reasons,” he told the legislative assembly. [Full text]

 

New South Wales assisted suicide/euthanasia bill permits refusal, protects practitioners

Euthanasia debate: NSW Parliament to consider drafted legislation on assisted dying

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Ashleigh Raper & Andrew Griffits

New South Wales is a step closer to allowing terminally ill people to voluntarily end their lives, with a draft bill with cross-party support being released today.

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill has been drafted by a parliamentary working group made up of members from the Coalition, Labor, Greens and an independent.

The draft bill would give a person over the age of 25 the right to request assistance from a medical practitioner to end their life. . . .[ Full text]

  • The bill does not include a protection of conscience provision per se.  However, Sections 6, 24 and 25 permit a practitioner to refuse to participate for any reason, making no distinction between refusal for reasons of conscience and refusal for other reasons.  It also equally protects both participating and non-participating practitioners from criminal and civil liability.

Yurek introduces private member’s bill

St. Thomas-Elgin Weekly News

Mike Maloney

Unable to get an amendment to the government’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) legislation passed during committee meetings on the subject, Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Jeff Yurek has decided to go it alone and put the issue before the Ontario Legislature.

On May 3, Yurek, who is also the Ontario PC party’s health critic, introduced a private member’s bill that if passed, would amend the government’s MAID legislation to protect the conscience rights of healthcare providers. It would make their participation voluntary, allowing healthcare professionals to refuse directly or indirectly to participate in MAID if it violates their conscience or religious beliefs . . . [Full text]