Assisted dying about to be legal in Canada
Source: Associated Press
Assisted dying about to be legal in Canada
Rob Gillies, Associated Press
Updated 6:06 pm, Monday, June 6, 2016
TORONTO (AP) — Doctor-assisted dying is about to become legal in Canada without clear legislation on how it would work.
Canada's Supreme Court last year struck down laws that bar doctors from helping someone critically ill die, but put the ruling on hold until midnight Monday to give the government time to come up with a new law. The House of Commons passed a law last week but it requires Senate approval and that could take days or weeks.
Provincial regulators issued guidelines based on the eligibility outlined by the Supreme Court but Health Minister Jane Philpott said Monday the guidelines do not provide enough clarity and protection to doctors. She hopes the federal legislation will pass soon.
"Doctors may have inadequate protection and I expect in these early days, many physicians will be extremely reluctant to provide assistance to patients wanting medical assistance in dying," Philpott told health care professionals in a speech in Ottawa. Philpott noted the guidelines vary from province to province and doctors lack standard criteria for who is eligible.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/article/Assisted-dying-about-to-be-legal-in-Canada-7965943.php
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