Saskatoon StarPhoenix
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan is set to finalize a policy to guide the province’s doctors on the controversial issue of doctor assisted death.
While the Supreme Court of Canada has struck down the old law forbidding the service, the former Conservative government didn’t introduce new legislation. The new Liberal government, meanwhile, could ask for an extension to the court’s Feb. 6, 2016 deadline.
However, the College doesn’t want doctors in the province to be stranded without any guidance, hence its own policy, which could be finalized at the College’s meeting Friday.
Associate registrar Bryan Salte walked the Saskatoon StarPhoenix through the complex issue. This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity. [Full text]
Related:
Project submission re: conscientious objection policy
It is not clear that the Associate Registrar has answered the question posed by the headline, as it is not clear from the interview that he is referring to the the policy on conscientious objection , which states that it does not apply to euthanasia and assisted suicide, or to a different policy on conscientious objection applying only to euthanasia and assisted suicide. A first version of the conscientious objection policy proposed by Mr. Salte demanded that physicians who refuse to provide a morally contested procedure for reasons of conscience must refer the patient to someone who would provide it. He was quite clear that this included assisted suicide.