Moral anguish shouldn’t trump patient’s pain

Re: “Catholic hospital bound by its ethics,” letter, Oct 21.

The letter-writer brings up the “do no harm” argument. But is ending the life of a person in great pain, and suffering so much that they choose to to die, doing harm? If you amputate a healthy limb you are doing harm, but if you amputate a diseased limb you are not. Ending a terminally ill person’s life, at their request, should be viewed similarly.

Having Catholic hospitals putting religious beliefs ahead of Canadian laws is an untenable position. What if they refused to treat gays or deliver illegitimate babies?

All medical professionals have the majority of their education paid for by taxpayers, and Catholic hospitals are funded by taxpayers, so they should follow the laws of Canada, not their religious dogma. It is unfair if their moral anguish trumps the needs of a patient whose pain and suffering makes dying preferable to living.

Perhaps there should be a clause in Canadian medical-ethics documents warning those entering the profession that some of their responsibilities “may cause some slight discomfort.”

S.I. Petersen Nanaimo