Call to Action – Appeal to Parliamentarians Before the Vote on Bill 11

The following is a message from the Physicians’ Alliance Against Euthanasia organization in Quebec:

Dear friends,

Last Tuesday (May 30th), the Committee on Citizen Relations completed their detailed study of Bill 11 on medical assistance in dying. Their report was submitted (with amendments) the following day and is currently under consideration. The final stage before the assent of the Bill is its adoption.

Quebec Parliamentarians are preparing to vote on a number of new measures to expand access to medical assistance in dying. We are under no illusions about the outcome. However, one big question remains: How many MPs will stand up in the Salon Bleu to oppose any of the proposed expansions? We cannot imagine a unanimous vote on a subject with such high ethical stakes. We are pleased that the government has announced that its MPs will be able to vote freely, and we assume that all opposition parties will make the same choice.

It is anticipated that Bill 11 will be adopted by the end of the Parliamentary session on June 9. Please contact your MNA now to urge him/her to vote against the proposed expansions of medical assistance in dying / euthanasia.

Following are a few reasons to respectfully oppose Bill 11. Please do not hesitate to use any of them.

To find your MP: https://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/deputes/index.html?appelant=MC

We thank you for your support,

Catherine Ferrier, MD
President

Reasons to respectfully oppose the adoption of Bill 11- An Act to amend the Act respecting end-of-life care and other legislative provisions, as amended by the Committee on Citizen Relations:

1 – Severe physical impairment: insufficient safeguards to prevent abuses

As Mr. Pier-Luc Turcotte, a member of the Expert Panel on the concept of neuromotor disability who does not support the conclusions of the final report, brilliantly put it (in an open letter published on June 1st by Le Devoir and Noovo): “The extension of medical assistance in dying to people with physical disabilities opens the door to major abuses, with very few solid safeguards to prevent them.”

The content of the op-ed alone should make people hesitate to support Bill 11. We recall the Fifth Estate (CBC) documentary confirming the many cases of abuse in English Canada: The Mess that is MAiD. Bill 11 will not prevent such abuse.

Medical assistance in living is the way to go!

2 – Medical assistance in dying will be possible in cases of “happy dementia”, contrary to the consensus of the Special Commission and the Expert Panel

The comments of Dr. François Evoy, who was invited to testify before the Parliamentary Commission on April 20th by Minister Sonia Bélanger, who is responsible for the legislation, makes us fear this expansion (see 1m30s video). The criterion of contemporary suffering remains in Bill 11, but we understand that the legislator now seems to accept the idea that “happy dementia” can hide psychological suffering. Hence, a person who has signed an advance directive specifying that he or she wishes to receive MAiD even in the case of “happy dementia” could obtain it.

However, there is strong opposition to this idea in many of the briefs presented at the consultations on Bill 11, during the work of the Select Committee on the Evolution of the Act respecting end-of-life care (2021) and by the Expert Group on the Issue of Incapacity and Medical Aid in Dying (2019). Since Dr. Evoy’s remarks, the Committee on Citizen Relations has not added sufficient safeguards to discourage MAiD in cases of “happy dementia”. In addition, there is no acceptable framework for clinical manifestations to receive MAiD by advance directives. Many issues, including the sedation of individuals with diminished capacity prior to MAiD, is postponed until a practical guide is drafted.

3 – Profoundly unfair treatment of Palliative Care centres, particularly those not wishing to offer MAiD

From the outset, we denounced the idea of forcing Palliative Care centres to offer medical assistance in dying. We were deeply disturbed when a new amendment proposed by Sonia Bélanger, Minister for Health and Seniors, made the Bill tougher on Palliative Care homes: “It (a Palliative Care home) cannot refuse to receive a person for the sole reason that the latter has submitted a request for medical assistance in dying”. This choice by the government is diametrically opposed to the wishes expressed by the Alliance des maisons de soins palliatifs du Québec during public consultations, and conflicts with their admission criteria. By adding a ridiculously short deadline (of 6 months!) on Wednesday evening for Palliative Care homes not wishing to offer medical assistance in dying (of which there are only 4), Bill 11 unfairly targets those living environments whose mission is to offer quality Palliative Care to their community, while respecting the Palliative culture that is freely chosen.

4 – Last-minute expansion – New MAiD locations: new problems

News of the all-inclusive offer of MAiD by funeral homes made local headlines in Le Canada français (April 27th), in an interview on the ICI Première’s program (May 4th), but it was not until a publication in La Presse (May 19th) that a tide of incredulous reactions followed. After expressing her discomfort, Minister Bélanger decided to make an accommodation for individuals wishing to receive MAiD in locations other than healthcare institutions, palliative care homes or their own homes. She proposed an amendment to prohibit the promotion and marketing of MAiD. Despite a sincere desire to avoid abuse, new problems are to be expected.

Three examples:

-Funeral complexes may be tempted to inflate the price of other services in order to offer free room rental for MAiD;

-As there is no right of refusal included in the law, owners of inns, campgrounds, cottages, public park authorities and so many other managers who express their disagreement will have to bear the odious consequences of a possible refusal;

– As MP Joël Arseneau pointed out during the detailed study of the Bill, the availability of these new locations risks making medical assistance in dying more attractive, while trivializing it even further.

If only this much effort and these many resources were deployed to increasing access to Palliative Care – in the location of one’s choice, including their home – throughout Quebec!

Just one of these reasons is sufficient to oppose Bill 11.
Wishing good judgment to all Quebec parliamentarians!

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