She fears there could be pressure on health professionals to use doctor assisted death to free up hospital beds if patients have consented in advance. “I am calling it death by doctor, not death with the assistance of a doctor, but death when the doctor decides you are going to die,” she said. “I don’t think health professionals want that as an approach.”
Continue reading Hospitals should be able to opt out of doctor-assisted death, expert saysPalliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness.
Continue reading WHO Definition of Palliative CareAn independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council defends and promotes freedom of religion or belief worldwide.
Continue reading The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Favor of a Right to Conscientious Objection in the Context of Abortion and EuthanasiaPeople are afraid of palliative care; many refuse early referral, which results in protracted and avoidable pain and suffering. Some even suspect that pain medication might inadvertently hasten their death (it will not). Requiring palliative care services to include medical assistance in dying would do little to assuage those fears.
Continue reading We must speak for those who can’tBeautiful article by Pr Catherine Frazee about vulnerability. “To be vulnerable, quite simply, is to be without defence.”
Continue reading “The Vulnerable”: Who Are They