Tag: British Columbia

Vancouver bishop speaks out on conscience rights, end-of-life care

LifeSite News

Lianne Laurence

VANCOUVER, August 22, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — Archbishop Michael Miller has reaffirmed that health care practitioners cannot be “pressured or coerced” into providing assisted suicide or euthanasia, which are now legal in Canada under Bill C-14, passed June 17.

In an August 11 letter to all hospitals and Catholic health care institutions in his diocese of approximately 430,000 Catholics, Miller stated that the “conscience of caregivers, physicians, nurses, and support staff must always be respected” and health care professionals should not be discriminated against for refusing to kill their patients by medical means or refusing to provide a “direct effective referral.”

“We maintain as a fundamental principle that any action or omission which of itself or by intention causes or hastens death is a grave violation of the commandment: ‘You shall not kill’,” he wrote. . . [Full text]

Christian elderly care provider in Canada refuses to provide ‘medical aid in dying’

The Christian Times

CB Condez

Baptist Housing, a Christian senior care provider in Brtiish Columbia, Canada, will not provide physician-assisted death in its facilities, which has disappointed some people who are for allowing terminally ill patients to have the option to end their lives.

“We feel that as a faith organization we would want to exercise our conscience in terms of that,” said CEO Howard Johnson, as quoted by CBC News. “We do believe that there is sanctity in life.”

Grace Pastine, litigation director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Union, said that the housing’s stance is unconstitutional since assisted suicide is legal in Canada and it is “a constitutional right for critically ill Canadians.” . . . [Full Text]

Right-to-die hits another snag with nurses

Nursing regulator in B.C. says it’s not yet clear that court ruling allowing assisted death protects participating nurses

Vancouver Sun

Jeff Lee

A B.C. doctor leading the efforts to provide physician-assisted dying says she’s being thwarted in her efforts to recruit nurses to help administer intravenous drugs.

On Monday Dr. Ellen Wiebe, the medical director of the Willow Women’s Centre in Vancouver, assisted a Calgary woman with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in dying after an Alberta court issued an exemption allowing the assistance.

Wiebe said on Thursday that she has a case going to B.C. Supreme Court next week in which a patient has chosen to die at home using intravenous medications. But she said the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia “does not support this.” . . . [Full text]

 

Woman makes own suicide a part of campaign to change law

Sean Murphy*

An 85 year old woman living on Bowen Island, British Columbia, killed herself with a drug overdose in the presence of her husband because she had developing dementia.  She planned to make her death a political statement in favour of the legalization of assisted suicide, writing an extensive blog article explaining her decision and sending a letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun for posthumous publication.    Symptoms of dementia were reportedly progressing and she decided to kill herself before the condition became too advanced.  [Vancouver Sun]

B.C. Court of appeal overturns assisted suicide judgement

In a 2/1 decision, the British Columbia Court of Appeal has overturned the Supreme Court ruling in Carter v. Canada, which would have legalized physician assisted suicide.  The case will almost certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.