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WORLD NEWS:

World Medical Association (WMA) International Code of Medical Ethics (ICoME) Draft revision

The World Medical Association (WMA) recently held a public consultation on the draft revised version of the International Code of Medical Ethics (ICoME). All experts and stakeholders were invited to submit comments on this draft version until 28 May 2021.

Click below to download:

1. The Joint Submission of Living With Dignity and the Physicians’ Alliance to the WMA ICoME public consultation
2. The Protection of Conscience Project submission: Click here to view the submission published on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

Kindly note that all submissions to the WMA were to be made in English. However, a courtesy French translation of our submission is available for our members: Soumission au Comité du Code international d’éthique médicale de l’Association médicale mondiale

Click here for the current version of the ICoME and here for the new draft revised version.

CANADIAN NEWS:

Quebec Select Committee on the Evolution of the Act respecting end-of-life care:
As you may recall, the committee was created following a motion proposed by the National Assembly on March 31, 2021, to examine the issues related to extending medical aid in dying to persons who are incapable of caring for themselves and those who are suffering from mental illness.

The first phase of the Select Committee work ended on Friday. The Committee will hold public hearings at the end of the summer, and will submit its report by November 19, 2021.

Following are some interesting Videos, Briefs and news articles from the proceedings of the Special Committee consultations and public hearings on the Evolution of the Act respecting end-of-life care:

• Dr. Félix Pageau : Internist-Geriatrician, University Hospital Centre of Québec; Researcher, Quebec Centre of Excellence on Aging; Regular member, Institute of Applied Ethics
  – Submission to the Committee on the Evolution of the Act respecting end-of-life care (Available in French only)
• Drs. Pierre Gagnon et Bertrand Major :
  –    Brief presented by Dr. Pierre Gagnon and a group of Quebec psychiatrists
  –    Video recording of presentation of Drs. Pierre Gagnon et Bertrand Major
• Professor Timothy Stainton: Professor at the School of Social Work and Director of the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship
  –      Brief to the Commission Spéciale sur l’évolution de la Loi concernant les soins fin de vie National Assembly of Quebec. Professor Tim Stainton May 25, 2021 (Available in English only)
  –    Video recording of presentation of Prof. Timothy Stainton
• Irene Tuffrey-Wijne, Professor of Intellectual Disability and Palliative Care
  – Is it possible to make assisted dying laws safe for people with intellectual disabilities or autism?
  – Presentation to the Special Committee (French and English)
  – Video recording of Prof. Tuffrey-Wijne’s presentation to the special committee
• Georgia Vrakas, Professor, Department of Psychoeducation, University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières
  – “Medical assistance in dying should not be extended to patients with mental illness”: expert an interview with Prof. Vrakas.
  –  Video recording of Professor Vrakas’ presentation to the Select Committee
  –   Aide médicale à mourir et maladie mentale : «Aidez-nous à mieux vivre» 
• Michèle Marchand, Doctor and philosopher: Despite being a strong advocate in the past for Medical Aid in Dying at the end of life for those suffering, Michèle Marchand expressed her concern that an extension of MAiD would be taking the logic out of (health) care. Click here for a transcript of her presentation to the Select committee (Please scroll down to the Journal des débats).

COMMENTARIES :

• Laval University and the Palliative Care Hospice Michel-Sarrazin recently announced the creation of the Palliative Care and End of Life Institute
• Following is a wise reflection by Prof. Louis-André Richard on the danger of societal complacency and political correctness that slowly leads to the destruction of the culture of palliative care and the regrettable concession to the provision of euthanasia:

Palliative care and medical aid in dying cannot go together (Available in French only: Soins palliatifs et aide médicale à mourir ne peuvent faire bon ménage)

• Conscience Rights are HUMAN Rights by Dr. Sohail Gandhi 
• A Plan to Unmake MAiD: A former Mountie and local coroner has a sure-fire way to protect health care workers from being made to administer MAiD…Peter Stockland reports.
• Why has the anti-euthanasia case been so unsuccessful? A reflection by Margaret Somerville. 

IN THE LITERATURE:

• Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia – who are the vulnerable? The South African Journal of Bioethics and Law. April 2021, Vol. 14, No. 1 SAJBL
• Incidence and risk factors for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide in oncology patients: A systematic review.

Wei Liu, Luke Liu, Alissa Liu, Sang Jia, Tony Liu, Gabriel Boldt, Melody Qu, and Ian Ball

Journal of Clinical Oncology 2021 39:15_suppl, 12034-12034

The study concluded that Up to 15% of oncology patients choose euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide and that many of these requests are significantly associated with potentially modifiable symptoms including severe nausea, vomiting, and pain.

• Submission to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario Re: Medical Assistance in Dying. April 28, 2021. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3851899. Sean T. Murphy

RESOURCES:

• Euthanasia: Searching for the Full Story: Experiences and Insights of Belgian Doctors and Nurses,  2020 Edited by Timothy Devos, Springer Cham, Switzerland.  The online edition is available free of charge.

Foreward2 by Margaret Somerville pp. ix —xv

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