Advocacy group criticizes Manitoba's proposed policy on doctor-assisted dying
Dying With Dignity Canada says policy puts physicians' interests over patients' rights
Dying With Dignity Canada has big concerns about proposed physician-assisted dying regulations from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba.
The group, which advocates for compassionate end-of-life choices, says the CPSM's rules "will block desperately ill patients from accessing their charter right to physician-assisted dying."
On Thursday, the CPSM, which regulates the practice of medicine in Manitoba, issued its draft statement on physician-assisted dying. The policy, which has yet to be ratified, sets out guidelines for how the province's doctors should handle requests for aid in dying.
The CPSM's draft policy prioritizes physicians' interests over patients' rights, the DWD states in a release issued on Friday.
This policy is unacceptable and we fear it will lead to the abandonment of horrifically ill Manitobans looking to achieve a peaceful end to their lives.- Shanaaz Gokool, Dying with Dignity Canada
The draft policy states doctors who object to assisted dying for moral or religious reasons should not be required to refer patients who request it to another provider, the DWD notes, adding the policy only requires doctors to provide information to patients on how to seek out a willing physician on their own.
"This policy is unacceptable and we fear it will lead to the abandonment of horrifically ill Manitobans looking to achieve a peaceful end to their lives," DWD Canada's Shanaaz Gokool stated in the release.
"The college cannot reasonably expect patients, especially those at end of life, to have the physical and emotional wherewithal to find a willing doctor to help end their suffering. Failing to provide these patients with an effective referral, threatens to block them from accessing their charter right to physician assisted dying."
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As of Feb. 6, 2016, it will be legal in Canada for a physician to assist a competent adult in taking his or her own life under strict conditions. Several doctors in Manitoba have told CBC News they will refuse to participate in physician-assisted suicide, and they won't refer patients to other doctors out of conscientious objection.
"Doctors' right of conscience is extremely important," Gokool said. "But we must not forget that the needs and interests of patients must come first in our medical system."
The CPSM has launched a 30-day consultation process on the draft statement and has an online survey available though its website to gather feedback. The last day submissions will be taken is Nov. 15
"We will be calling on our supporters in Manitoba to raise their voice for a compassionate, patient-centred approach to physician assisted dying," said Gokool.
"We must not allow the medical establishment to abandon patients facing unendurable suffering in their time of greatest need."