Assisted-dying law needed now to protect doctors, health minister warns
From thestar.com
OTTAWA—Health Minister Jane Philpott is telling health care providers gathered in Ottawa today that provincial guidelines and regulations on doctor-assisted dying do not provide enough clarity and protection to those who may now be asked to help their patients die.
“While I have faith in Canada's healthcare providers to carry out these responsibilities responsibly and ethically, I believe that regulatory guidance alone is insufficient, given the nature of what you will be asked to do,” Philpott said in her speech to the National Health Leadership Conference in Ottawa Monday.
Philpott reminded the room that doctor-assisted dying now becomes legal in Canada after the federal government missed the Monday deadline the Supreme Court gave them to enact legislation responding to its landmark ruling on physician-assisted death.
“Unfortunately, despite tremendous effort, this bill is not yet in place,” Philpott said in her speech at a downtown Ottawa hotel.
“That means that, effective tomorrow, you may be asked to do something that has never been expected of you before — to help people end their lives. It's a daunting prospect,” she said.
Medical regulators in every province have already issued guidelines for physicians on providing assistance in dying, based on the eligibility criteria outlined by the Supreme Court.
Those rules impose safeguards similar to — and in some cases, even stronger than — those proposed in C-14.
Philpott warned of a patchwork across the country.
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