Canada鈥檚 health minister says the country鈥檚 doctors, nurses and pharmacists face a 鈥渄aunting prospect鈥� of navigating a new reality around assisted dying beginning Tuesday.
鈥淓ffective tomorrow you may be asked to do something that you鈥檝e never been asked to do before, to help people end their lives,鈥� Jane Philpott, a former family doctor, told in Ottawa Monday.
At midnight Monday, Canada鈥檚 provisions in the Criminal Code prohibiting doctor-assisted suicide will expire following a Supreme Court ruling in February 2015. The House of Commons has passed Bill C-14 to set regulations around doctor-assisted suicide but that legislation has not yet been approved by the Senate.
Philpott said she is confident the Senate will give its approval, but in the meantime, there is a grey zone for health-care providers.
Medical regulators in each province have issued guidelines for physicians on providing assistance in dying, based on the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling, but Philpott says that鈥檚 not enough.
"While I have faith in Canada's health care 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,鈥� she said.
She expects that many doctors, nurses and pharmacists will be reluctant to assist a patient who requests a medically-assisted death.
She said she has witnessed many deaths and 鈥淚 know the assurances I would want if I was a doctor practising today.鈥�
Philpott added that there is currently a 鈥減atchy approach鈥� to the protection of the most vulnerable and 鈥渋nsufficient clarity鈥� around who should be eligible for physician-assisted suicide.
鈥淚n some provinces people under the age of 18 are eligible and in some provinces not,鈥� she later told CTV鈥檚 Power Play.
鈥淚n some provinces people with mental illness as their sole cause of suffering are eligible and in some provinces not,鈥� she added.
鈥淪ome provinces require two people to witness the signature of the patient and in some cases there is no requirement for a witness,鈥� she went on.
鈥淭his is a big concern for me.鈥�
The Senate is expected to hear today from a constitutional expert who will say C-14 does not comply with the Supreme Court ruling because it restricts access to people who are already near death.
Advocacy group Dying with Dignity Canada is urging the Senate to overhaul the bill, arguing it doesn鈥檛 conform to the Supreme Court decision or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
鈥淏y limiting eligibility for assisted dying to individuals at end of life, Bill C-14 will deny Canadians who are suffering intolerably from severe chronic illnesses such as ALS and multiple sclerosis 鈥� but whose deaths are not imminent 鈥� their right to die in peace with the help of a physician,鈥� the group said in a press release Monday. 鈥淚n addition, the proposed ban on advance requests for assisted dying will effectively exclude individuals diagnosed with capacity-eroding conditions such as Alzheimer鈥檚 and Huntington鈥檚 disease.鈥�
Lee Carter, one of the plaintiffs in the landmark case that led to the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling, also spoke out against the proposed bill, saying it traps those suffering from grievous and debilitating medical conditions.
鈥淭oday, we鈥檙e celebrating that Canadian law now allows Canadians to have a dignified and peaceful death. But on the other hand I feel betrayed. The Liberal government has crafted Bill C-14 to be so restrictive that my own mother would be turned away. People who suffer from Huntington鈥檚 disease, MS, or even spinal stenosis, my mother鈥檚 condition, would all be denied because they are not 鈥榯erminal.鈥欌��
Philpott told Power Play that she believes 鈥減eople like Kay Carter and others in similar circumstances would, in fact, be able to access medical assistance in dying under our legislation.鈥�
