The terminally ill and disabled should be able to request doctor assisted death in advance, according to Dying With Dignity Canada.
Spokesperson Sheila Sperry explains the problem is the new law doesn’t let you request doctor assisted death advance if specific conditions are met.
She says that runs counter to existing advanced care directives that let you outline what kinds of treatment you’d like to be given in the future.
“In your advance care directive you are not allowed to request assistance to die, you’ve always had the right to refuse treatment, stop treatment, stop eating and drinking, those are rights we have now,” says Sperry.
She says without advance consent for death, and the government’s requirement that patients be competent right up until the moment they request death prolongs their suffering.
“The point is, why should someone who is dying, have to starve themselves over three, or four, or five days, rather than have a merciful death with the help of a doctor,” says Sperry.
Sperry adds they understand the government’s concerns over potential abuse, but says there is a middle ground.
“If you were diagnosed with an illness that was going to result in your death, for instance Huntington’s, ALS, Alzheimer’s, illnesses like that, you would be able to make the request at that time,” says Sperry. “And it would be honoured in the future even if you were no longer competent by then.
Sperry says people should be allowed to set the conditions under which they wish to be given a merciful death.
