Canada’s assisted suicide guidance for docs: ‘virtual’ assessments, and don’t tell patient’s family

The Canadian government has released new recommended standards and advice for medical doctors concerning physician-assisted suicide that critics say do nothing to protect vulnerable patients from premature death.

The new guidelines allow for “virtual” physician-assisted suicide, advise doctors not to notify family members when a patient requests suicide, and require medical professionals who object to physician-assisted suicide to refer patients to others who are willing to participate in their suicides.

Health Canada released on March 27 the “Model Practice Standard for Medical Assistance in Dying,” as guidance for the practice of assisted suicide, made legal in 2016 and known as medical aid in dying (MAiD). More than 31,000 people have already died by legal euthanasia in Canada.

In an accompanying statement, Canada’s national health department said the standards are designed to “ensure that MAiD practice in Canada can operate in a consistent and safe manner across the country.” This guidance “will help clinicians align their practice with clear guidance and will assist regulators to ensure the protection of the public in the context of complex cases, including where the person’s sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness.”

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