Court ruling could force doctors to support euthanasia
Doctors may be forced to support euthanasia over their own religious objections if the Supreme Court of Canada decides to decriminalize physician-assisted suicide in a landmark ruling expected Friday.
The court announced Monday it is set to rule on the Carter case launched on behalf of two British Columbia women — Kathleen Carter and Gloria Taylor — who have since died.
Ahead of the ruling, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, which regulates medical doctors in the province, has been seeking public input on a draft policy that would force the province’s doctors to help patients access any services to which they are legally entitled. It will finalize the policy after the comment period ends on Feb. 20.
Whatever its policy ultimately looks like, the college is clear: a patient’s right to access services outweighs a doctor’s right to refuse them. “We prioritize the interests of our patients in facilitating access,” says Dr. Marc Gabel, past president of the college and chair of the policy’s working group.
Not quite, says Ottawa lawyer Albertos Polizogopolous, who acted for two major Protestant and Catholic physicians groups when the Supreme Court heard arguments on the Carter case in October. “There’s no right to receive a procedure from a specific doctor,” he said, adding that doctors have a charter right to refuse a procedure on moral or religious grounds.
The Criminal Code makes it a crime to help anyone commit suicide — an offence that can result in up to 14 years in prison.
Larry Worthen, executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Society, which represents more than 1,500 doctors across Canada, said he knows of several doctors who plan to retire early in order to avoid having to carry out procedures that conflict with their beliefs. Others are pouring their concerns onto the college’s online forum.