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Montreal, September 3, 2015 - The announcement by the Collège des médecins of the imminent publication of the administrative protocol for “medical aid in dying”, a euphemism for euthanasia, led to a number of untimely and false statements from several authorities.

Throughout the debate that led to the adoption of Bill 52, An Act regarding end of life care, Living with Dignity and the Physicians’ Alliance against Euthanasia have always acted with great respect for  truth and dignity. Therefore, the two organizations, together representing over 700 doctors and 12,000 citizens, now feel the duty to denounce some misinformation conveyed in the last days.

Palliative Care Centres

Dr. Barrette and Ms. Hivon were surprised by the refusal of the palliative care centres to provide medical aid in dying and some leaders, including Mr. Jean-Pierre Ménard, one of the architects of Bill 52, even threaten to cut their funding.

Throughout the process leading to the adoption of Bill 52, the palliative care centres said repeatedly that they would not offer medical aid in dying, and the right to refuse was enshrined in the Bill 52. The exercise of this right cannot be an object of wonder, much less of retaliation.

Physicians

The announcement by some expert palliative care physicians that they will not help their patient to die also aroused many reactions, accusations and threats against them. We wish to remind the authorities, the population and the doctors themselves that all doctors, whether they are palliative-care providers or not, have the absolute right to refuse to perform medical aid in dying and that, contrary to what has been said many times, conscientiously objecting physicians have no obligation, in case of refusal, to find another doctor who will agree to carry out this act. Even the Supreme Court of Canada in the Carter decision recognized the right of doctors not to be forced to practise medical aid in dying if it is against their personal convictions.

We therefore welcome the courage of all doctors who have publicly announced their refusal to carry out this act, which is not an act of caring and is certainly not medical care. We invite all physicians who share this point of view not to feel isolated or threatened but, instead, to make their position publicly known and to join the Physicians’ Alliance against Euthanasia.

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