Public support growing for doctor-assisted death
Advocate hails ‘real momentum’ as poll finds 77% back practice, though many of country’s doctors would refuse to help end lives
A large and growing majority of Canadians support physician-assisted death, a new poll has found, even as many of the country’s doctors report they would refuse to end a patient’s life.
According to a Forum poll released Friday, 77 per cent of the population believes in doctor-assisted suicide for people who are terminally ill, up 10 per cent from a similar poll the firm conducted just four years ago. The survey of 1,440 voters found support was strong across all age groups and political affiliations.
Linda Jarrett, an assisted-dying advocate who has been living with multiple sclerosis for17 years, said she was encouraged by the findings.
“It is important to me that polls are showing more and more people in agreement,” the 67-year-old told the Star from her hospital bed in Kitchener, where she is recovering from surgery to repair a broken hip.
“C’est ma vie, c’est mon choix,” said the former elementary French teacher. “It’s my life, it should be my choice.”
Wanda Morris, the CEO of Dying with Dignity Canada, said the poll “shows a real momentum and increasing support” for assisted dying, and “validates” the Supreme Court decision in February that struck down the federal law against the practice. The court suspended implementation of its ruling for one year to allow legislators and regulatory bodies time to put new rules in place.
Despite the poll numbers, opposition to assisted dying still remains. Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, said the survey merely shows that Canadians fear “dying a bad death” and are unaware of what he says are the dangers of legalizing assisted suicide. He predicted laws permitting the practice “will be abused.”
“Some doctors will go against the law, or not report (when they help someone die), or do it without request or consent,” he warned.
The poll results come the same week that the Canadian Medical Association released an internal survey that found 63 per cent of its members wouldn’t provide medical aid in dying to a patient who requested it. Twenty-nine per cent of respondents said they would.
The survey, which the CMA conducted online, is not considered a scientifically accurate reflection of how all Canadian doctors feel, but still suggests the medical community is divided on a practice that will become decriminalized in a matter of months.
Dr. Jeff Blackmer, vice-president of medical professionalism at the CMA, said the survey shouldn’t necessarily be taken as a sign that doctors are out of step with public opinion. He noted that the third of doctors who said they would aid a patient in dying represent thousands of physicians across the country. But he acknowledged that “we’ve consistently seen a lower level of support for the legalization of assisted dying in the medical profession than in the general public.
“(Physicians are) the ones who will be tasked with doing this,” he said. “So it’s a very different filter that doctors are using, and they’re looking at it really from their role as healers and as a profession that has obviously not participated in this in Canada.”
At its annual general meeting in Halifax this week, the CMA passed a resolution committing to developing guidelines for the assessment of patients who request an assisted death. The association has also been holding consultations on the issue, and this summer produced a draft framework document outlining a “principles-based approach.”
The principles include the importance of patient consent and capacity, and respect for patient autonomy, as well as respect for physician’s values. One contentious issue the association is grappling with is what obligations a doctor who has a moral objection to assisted dying would have to a patient who requested the intervention. Only one-fifth of doctors who responded to the CMA survey said a physician should be required to refer the patient to a colleague who would perform the service
The CMA hopes its recommendations will be considered as part of new laws drafted by provincial and federal governments, as well as rules drawn up by the provincial colleges that regulate medical practice.
Although the provinces have struck a panel to study assisted dying legislation, and a separate federally appointed panel will deliver its report after the Oct. 19 election, Dying with Dignity is concerned that legislators might miss the February deadline when the Supreme Court ruling will go into effect.
For Jarrett, new rules can’t be implemented soon enough. She said she’s worried that regulations providing clear access to physician-assisted death won’t be in place by the time her quality of life deteriorates to the point that she decides she wants to die, and hopes the growing
“It’s a very different filter that doctors are using, and they’re looking at it really from their role as healers.” DR. JEFF BLACKMER VICE-PRESIDENT, MEDICAL PROFESSIONALISM, CMA
consensus will encourage politicians who are “nervously treading” around the issue to act.
“Listen to your constituents, accept the results of valid polls that show this is what people want,” she said. “And yes, protect the vulnerable, yes protect those who would be preyed upon, but for heaven’s sake don’t close the doors to all of those people out there who support choice at end of life.”
Forum’s voice response telephone survey was conducted Aug. 23 to 24, and is considered accurate plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.