Quebec, Canada to Redefine Assisted Suicide As Medical Treatment

International   |   Wesley J. Smith   |   Jan 16, 2013   |   3:46PM   |   Montreal, Canada

Assisted suicide is against Canadian federal law, a statute that applies throughout the country. But health care law is governed by the provinces (as I understand it). Hence, Quebec will try and redefine some suicides into a medical treatment as a means of circumventing federal law. From the CBC story:

The Quebec government says it will proceed with so-called “dying with dignity” legislation aimed at allowing doctors to help some terminally ill patients end their lives. A provincial panel of legal experts studying medically assisted end-of-life procedures released its recommendations Tuesday, suggesting Quebec could bypass the Canadian Criminal Code — which prohibits assisted suicide — and allow doctors to help some people who wish to die at a time of their own choosing.

The panel concludes that when a terminally ill patient is receiving palliative treatment and can demonstrate with lucidity the desire to end his or her life, helping that patient carry out that wish should be considered part of the continuum of care.

Suicide isn’t “care,” it is killing, which palliative care isn’t about in any way, manner, shape, or form. Passing a law pretending that it is could lead to confusion about hospice, the difference between refusing medical treatment, euthanasia, and the true meaning of pain control. Or, to put it another way, one can call a stink bug a butterfly, but it is still a stinkbug.

CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!

 

LifeNews.com Note: Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture. He writes at his blog, Secondhand Smoke.