Sunday, June 19, 2016

"Canada Legalizes Physician-Assisted Dying"

NPRThe new law "limits the option to the incurably ill, requires medical approval and mandates a 15-day waiting period," as The Two-Way has reported.

The Canadian government introduced the bill in April and it passed a final Senate vote Friday. It includes strict criteria that patients must meet to obtain a doctor's help in dying. As we have reported, a patient must:
"Be eligible for government-funded health care (a requirement limiting assisted suicides to Canadians and permanent residents, to prevent suicide tourism)."
"Be a mentally competent adult 18 or older."
"Have a serious and incurable disease, illness or disability."
"Be in an 'advanced state of irreversible decline,' with enduring and intolerable suffering."
Some lawmakers wanted to broader eligibility criteria that would include degenerative diseases, Reuters reports. "The key amendment that senators had been pushing for was to broaden the criteria for who qualifies for assisted dying," reporter Dan Karpenchuk tells our Newscast unit. "They had insisted that it includes suffering Canadians who are not close to death."

Ultimately, the senators dropped the amendment and adopted the bill with the more restrictive language – but Dan says the law will likely be challenged in courts.

8 comments:

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

NPR scrupulously avoids the use of the word suicide. Though "scruples" is probably not the word I want to use in reference to state sponsor suicide. I just like the word.

Why do you think NPR avoided using the word suicide.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

18 is so young to be contemplating that kind of decision. If at all, it should be 21.

edutcher said...

The Next Best Thing To Auschwitz.

Then again, who wants to live in Baby Trudeau's Canuckistan?

ndspinelli said...

Well, "suicide" is what it is and that's unpleasant. Liberals took Orwell literally.

chickelit said...

I could see this becoming a leading cause of death among certain ethnic groups -- in 10-20 years.

ricpic said...

HAPPY FADDERS DAY!

All you Fadders out there.....and you Mudders too.

chickelit said...

I found a very nice card this morning from my son which was nice. This was touching because he'll be 18 very soon and is going through the normal teen-aged phase of detachment.

ndspinelli said...

chick, Your son is fortunate to have an old man who understands that. Many don't.