Some health-care workers who either directly provide medical assistance in dying or work in that field say they are strongly opposed to Bill 18 — which, if passed, would prevent doctors or nurse practitioners from administering MAID to patients if they are unlikely to die within the next 12 months.
In a letter published in the Edmonton Journal on Friday and shared with CBC News, 25 health-care workers signed their names to make their opposition known.
“The proposed mandates and sanctions place clinicians in ethically untenable positions, undermining professional judgment and eroding trust within the therapeutic relationship,” the letter reads, in part.
Doctors and nurse practitioners would be barred from referring a patient out-of-province to be assessed for MAID eligibility. They would be prohibited from suggesting MAID to any patients as an option — the patient would have to request information on MAID first.
The law would prevent health facilities, such as clinics or continuing care homes, from publicly displaying any information about MAID, to “reduce the risk of undue influence or coercion,” according to briefing from the government.
Proposed legislation in Alberta would prevent anyone in the province from accessing medical assistance in dying if they are unlikely to die within 12 months, effectively excluding patients whose sole underlying condition is mental illness.
“We know that this is a conversation that is both sensitive and complex,” Justice Minister Mickey Amery said in an interview last week.
“We know that people in this province have very intimate and personal sessions with their doctors, but we also know once again that the entire premise was MAID was a last resort option.”
‘We are baffled,’ says doctor
Lethbridge doctor Dionne Walsh is a palliative care physician who provides MAID in southwestern Alberta, and is one of the signatories of the letter.
“We are baffled by the proposed bill that has come out and we’re feeling heartbroken for our patients,” she said in an interview on Sunday.
Walsh said it will break her heart to have to tell “capable” patients they won’t be able to end their life on their terms if this bill passes as written.
“We get into this because we have such compassion for our patients, and we also have a passion for exploring their journey,” she said.
“MAID is not death on demand. And I think the government is painting it that way. But we have a really robust process that we can look at who is truly eligible, who is truly capable.”
‘How dare you’
Some organizations advocating for people with disabilities are pleased by the legislation, particularly the prohibitions on what’s called “track 2” MAID, for people whose death is not immediately foreseeable.
For Judy McPherson, the legislation removes a crucial choice — one that her 47-year-old son made last year.
Brian McPherson was known best for his breakout role in the CBC TV show Push, which follows a group of friends in Edmonton navigating their lives in wheelchairs.
He was also a former World Cup winning para-bobsledder and a nationally ranked sledge hockey player.
“I wish with all my heart that he was still here, but not in the condition he was in,” McPherson said in an interview last week.
“Was he dying? Not really. But the pain he was in, you wouldn’t wish that on your worst enemy.”
McPherson said her son’s condition deteriorated rapidly near the end of his life. It was difficult for him to dress, to cook, and to do things he wanted to do. Under the proposed bill, he would not be eligible for MAID.
“He would come over on occasion, or we would go over there, and he’d be shaking and he’d be sweating he was in so much pain. And there was nothing we could do,” she said.
“Do I miss him? Absolutely. But my heart is at ease knowing he’s at peace and no longer in pain,” McPherson said.
“I’m glad that there was the opportunity. I’m more than irate about this government who seems to think that they can dictate … what you can and can’t do with your body.”
McPherson said the government has no right to tell a person they “haven’t suffered enough.” Watching her son live in pain helped her understand his decision to end his life on his terms, and she said his death was peaceful.
“But the government doing what they’re doing, how dare you. How dare you take a person’s life and roll the dice?”
Taking choice away
The right to choose is something Dr. Adrian Wagg also believes is beneficial. Wagg has done what he estimates to be hundreds of MAID assessments in his career. He specializes in geriatric medicine and is is a professor at the University of Alberta.
He said a lot of track 2 requests have involved chronic neurodegenerative diseases; things like ALS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis for individuals who, “in their opinion, have no quality of life and are suffering daily. And those individuals would be ineligible.”
He said the government’s instinct to protect consent, and make sure MAID is being given with due care and thought is not necessarily a bad thing.
“I don’t think it should mean a knee-jerk reaction in limiting people’s access or potentially leading to additional suffering,” he said.
“In my personal opinion, the proposed changes to the legislation provincially are a step backwards in allowing freedom of choice and autonomy, and I think that that’s challenging and a shame.”
