Montreal, September 23, 2015 – The Physicians’ Alliance against Euthanasia deplores certain provisions adopted by the Quebec College of Physicians in its “Practice guideline for medical aid in dying.”
In article 7.2 of the Guide, the College orders doctors to falsify the real cause of death on the death certificate that is required by the Public Health Act, for patients who die by “medical aid in dying”(MAD). This article clearly states that “the physician must write as an immediate cause of death the disease or morbid condition which justified the MAD. (…) The term “medical aid in dying” should not be included in this report. Indeed, such information, if revealed to uninformed relatives, could firstly go against the will of a patient wishing to keep this information confidential and, secondly, cause them harm.”
This instruction by the College is contrary to Article 19 of the Public Health Act Regulation which stipulates that “the cause of death must be indicated in the most accurate manner possible.” It goes without saying that such a practice constitutes a severe breach of ethics, and it will inevitably lead to serious abuse, in addition to distorting the official statistics on the real causes of death in Quebec.
This practice guideline confirms the concerns of health professionals, especially those specialized in end of life care (palliative care) who have stated since the beginning of this debate that euthanasia is homicide and is not medical care.
We reemphasize that all doctors have the right to refuse to kill their patients without fear of reprisal, as do pharmacists, nurses and other health workers.