Yesterday, an overwhelming majority of Canadian doctors refused to embrace physician assisted suicide at a meeting of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). As the CTV reports, “Only 29 per cent of doctors at the Annual General Council Meeting voted to support physician assisted suicide, citing concerns over mental health, young patients, and the lack of palliative care.”

In February of this past year, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the country’s ban on physician assisted suicide was illegal, and it will begin to be made available in February 2016. As evidenced by yesterday’s meeting, few doctors will be willing to engage in the practice as they rightfully see it as inconsistent with their profession.

Dr. Chris Simpson, head of the CMA, stated, “I want to know at the end of my career that I did everything I could to advocate for doctors who don’t want to participate in assisted death.” We applaud his bravery and hope others will follow his lead.

Image by Alex Indigo via flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

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Christopher White, Ramsey Institute Project Director