{"id":333097,"date":"2025-06-20T12:41:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T17:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=333097"},"modified":"2025-06-20T12:40:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T17:40:51","slug":"quebec-medical-group-healthcare-assisted-dying-objection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/quebec-medical-group-healthcare-assisted-dying-objection\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec medical group to healthcare workers: You must facilitate requests for &#8216;assisted dying&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>A Quebec medical group sent out a <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1-SHT8zrBXDp6X_6rdGy3keANfh7Y60NJ\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">memorandum<\/a> to healthcare professionals &#8220;reminding&#8221; them of their obligations to facilitate Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) requests, despite any conscientious objections.<\/p>\n<h2>Key Takeaways:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A memo from a Quebec medical group reminds healthcare professionals they must respond to euthanasia requests.<\/li>\n<li>The professionals were told if they object, they must notify a support group that exists to provide &#8220;end of life care.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Quebec has the highest euthanasia rate in the world, as advocates continue to push for expansion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Details:<\/h2>\n<p>Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has <a href=\"https:\/\/alexschadenberg.blogspot.com\/2025\/06\/quebec-medical-group-requires-every.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">obtained<\/a> the &#8220;general reminder,&#8221;\u00a0 which clearly states, &#8220;No healthcare professional can ignore a request for MAiD,&#8221; adding that it is the &#8220;responsibility of every professional to ensure that such a request is taken care of.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The memorandum instructs those with conscientious objections to MAiD to notify the Interdisciplinary Support Group (ISG), as it states:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Any physician or specialized nurse practitioner who receives a request for an MAID must notify the<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Interdisciplinary Support Group (ISG) and, if applicable, forward the request form to the ISG when he or she:<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>\u2022 refuses a request (based on the eligibility criteria recognized by the Act);<\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u2022 refuses to assist a person in formulating an anticipated application (moral or religious<\/em><br \/>\n<em>conscientious objection) or in withdrawing such an application;<\/em><br \/>\n<em>\u2022 refuses to carry out the required examination.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>As the memo states, the ISG&#8217;s job is to &#8220;provide clinical, administrative and ethical support for end-of-life care.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Healthcare professionals are also reminded they may not &#8220;intimidate&#8221; anyone requesting MAiD, and that anyone who witnesses such &#8220;intimidation&#8221; is to be reported.<\/p>\n<h2>Commentary:<\/h2>\n<p>The memo&#8217;s insistence that medical professionals facilitate all MAiD requests is alarming, especially considering that as of 2024, Quebec has the <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/euthanasia-rates-quebec-highest-in-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">highest euthanasia rate in the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, the Quebec Commission on End-of-Life Care issued a warning that some of the province&#8217;s euthanasia deaths were <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/quebec-commission-euthanasia-deaths-comply-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">not in compliance<\/a> with the law. The commission felt compelled to send a memo reminding doctors that old age alone isn&#8217;t qualification for a MAID death, while reiterating that a second doctor must confirm the euthanasia request.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these statistics, the province announced in 2024 that it is moving to allow euthanasia by &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/quebec-euthanasia-incompetent-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">advance request<\/a>&#8221; for people who are no longer able to give their consent.<\/p>\n<h2>The Bottom Line:<\/h2>\n<p>As Schadenberg noted, given memos like this one, &#8220;it is sadly not surprising that Qu\u00e9bec has the highest euthanasia rate in the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/actnow.io\/G3Bhv6M\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-332271\" src=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-700x251.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-700x251.jpg 700w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-300x107.jpg 300w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-768x275.jpg 768w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02-500x179.jpg 500w, https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LA25DefundPP_EmailBannerAd-02.jpg 1167w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Quebec medical group sent out a memorandum to healthcare professionals &#8220;reminding&#8221; them of their obligations to facilitate Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) requests, despite any conscientious objections. Key Takeaways: A memo from a Quebec medical group reminds healthcare professionals they must respond to euthanasia requests. The professionals were told if they object, they must [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":332573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Quebec medical group to healthcare workers: You must facilitate requests for &#039;assisted dying&#039;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Quebec medical group told healthcare professionals they must help someone seeking assisted dying, despite conscientious objection.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/quebec-medical-group-healthcare-assisted-dying-objection\/\" \/>\n<meta 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