Category: Assisted suicide

How far should a doctor go? MDs say they ‘need clarity’ on Supreme Court’s assisted suicide ruling

National Post

Sharon Kirkey

Canada’s doctors are seeking clarity from the federal government on what the Supreme Court of Canada intended in its landmark ruling on assisted dying, including the question of how far a doctor is permitted to go in contributing to a patient’s death.

“We’ve got a few key questions that we think need clarity and this is one of them: Is it euthanasia or is it assisted dying?” said the Canadian Medical Association’s director of ethics and professional affairs, Dr. Jeff Blackmer.

The powerful doctors’ lobby said it is not clear whether the high court has opened the door not just to assisted suicide  –  where a doctor writes a prescription for a lethal overdose of drugs the patient takes herself  –  but also to something many physicians find profoundly more uneasy: pushing the syringe themselves. . . [Full text]

 

Protect doctors’ right to choose

QMI AGENCY

It’s all about choice. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that suffering Canadians have the right to choose to end their life through assisted suicide.

But doctors must also have the right to choose  –  to choose whether they are a part of this process or not.

A recent article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal showcases several points worth repeating. They report that a majority of palliative care physicians actually don’t envision assisted suicide as part of their work. . . [Full text]

 

The Carter v. Canada Conundrum: Next Steps for Implementing Physician Aid-in-Dying in Canada

Sally Bean and Maxwell Smith (Bioethics Program Alum, 2010)

We applaud the February 6, 2015 Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) unanimous ruling in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5. The Court found the criminal prohibition of assisted death to be in violation of section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person. The ruling has been suspended for 12 months to enable time for a Parliamentary response. In the wake of this landmark ruling, we identify and briefly discuss three issues that require serious attention prior to the implementation of Physician Aid-in-Dying (PAD) in Canada. . . [Full text]

 

‘This is moral genocide’: Canadian doctors blast plans to force them into helping patients procure abortion

LifeSite News

Steve Weatherbe

REGINA, Saskatchewan, February 17, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Christian doctors across Canada are vowing to challenge the constitutionality of the requirement now being considered by the Saskatchewan medical profession that all its members be required to perform abortions or assist at suicides—or refer patients to other doctors who will.

“This is moral genocide,” Saskatoon emergency room doctor Philip Fitzpatrick says of the policy, already approved in principle without consultation with doctors or the public by the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons.

“There’s no medical reason for these clauses overriding our consciences,” he continued. “The people who want euthanasia and abortion on demand just don’t like the fact somebody disagrees. They are trying to chase us out of the profession.”

“We have to sue the College if it approves this policy,” Larry Worthen, executive director of the Christian Dental and Medical Association of Canada, told LifeSiteNews. “Half our members will have to quit if it were enforced. It goes against their very reason for being in medicine.” . . .[Full Text]

Saskatchewan doctors could face discipline over assisted suicide

Global News

Doug Lett

SASKATOON – Doctors in the province who refuse to cooperate with physician-assisted suicide could face discipline according to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan.

“If a physician feels the directives are wrong, they will still, we would expect, they will still follow those directives,” said Bryan Salte, associate registrar of the college, “in spite of the fact they may not agree with them.”

While the college has not come up with policies around assisted suicide, it is circulating a draft policy on conscientious refusal. It says while doctors can refuse to provide a legally provided service if it violates their freedom of conscience, they do have to make a referral to another health care provider who will do it.

That means a doctor who believes suicide is wrong would still have to refer a patient to a doctor who would help them kill themselves. . . [Full Text]