Last week, the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians joined numerous other medical societies worldwide in declaring its strong opposition to the legalization of either assisted suicide or euthanasia.
The Society’s position statement, made in response to a government appointed advisory committee’s non-binding call for the legalization of euthanasia ( deemed safer than assisted suicide because it occurs in a medical setting), is based simply on a survey of the Society of Palliative Care Physicians’ membership. 90% of survey respondents said they would not participate in euthanasia, and 83% said they would not aid an assisted suicide. The position paper describes these responses of physicians who work daily with the dying as “overwhelming opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide”.
Here is the link to the Society’s press release, which contains further links to the survey and the position statement:
http://www.cspcp.ca/english/WebStoryFINAL4.pdf