Why not protect doctors’ consciences?

From the beginning of the debate over the now legal medical procedure of medically assisted dying, politicians have simply assumed doctors would do it. Why? Why assume all doctors (and nurses) would be comfortable with this burden? Especially since the medical professionals most likely to encounter requests for euthanasia would be those devoted to palliative care, to giving their patients as good a quality of life as possible in the final stages of life.

Canada’s assisted dying law does not require doctors to provide medically assisted death personally. But in Ontario, they must refer the patient to a doctor who will do it, known as effective referral, which many medical professionals say violates their conscience rights.

Other jurisdictions where medically assisted dying is legal have recognized this issue and taken a simple step that respects both the rights of patients and the conscience of doctors: They set up a government phone number that doctors objecting to euthanasia can give their patients to make their request for a medically assisted death. This shouldn’t even be controversial. Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government has already said it will establish such an agency.

All the doctors who oppose assisted dying are asking is that their conscience rights be recognized in law — specifically in Bill 84, the provincial legislation that will implement the federal assisted dying law.

But for some reason, the Liberal government hasn’t legally recognized the thirdparty process in Bill 84.

Along with the NDP, the Liberals last week voted down a private member’s bill from Tory MPP Jeff Yurek which would have amended Bill 84 to recognize doctors’ conscience rights with regard to euthanasia.

Why the government is taking a hard line on this isn’t clear — especially since it’s already said it intends to set up the thirdparty process.

Especially since doctors who oppose euthanasia recognize the legal rights of their patients to a medically assisted death and request only that they not be compelled to directly participate in it.

The Wynne government’s position is difficult to understand, unless it’s based on the misguided notion that respecting doctors’ conscience rights on the issue of euthanasia would somehow reopen the access to abortion debate.

The government should grant this perfectly reasonable request.