Euthanasia in Canada: Bill C-384

Under Bill C 384 a subgroup of Canadian patients would be allowed to have the option of committing suicide with dignity assisted by a physician. Only patients at least 18 years old suffering from either terminal diseases or experiencing excruciating physical or mental pain after trying or refusing appropriate treatments are included in the Bill. Physicians assisting the procedure must be requested by capable patients in two written documents with more than 10 days apart from each other. Written confirmation of the diagnosis by another physician with no interest in the death of the patients is an obligatory prerequisite to perform voluntary euthanasia. Patients must necessarily designate a substitute decision maker with no personal interest in their death before requesting assisted suicide. Also patients are allowed to desist from their decision at any time during the process. The controversial bill is in discussion in the House of Commons. It would hold blameless any medical practitioner aiding persons looking for voluntary euthanasia under Canadian law.

The bill that legalizes euthanasia in Canada seems to be compatible with Canadian principles of self determination and care of common well being, but it has some issues to be fixed. Bill C 384 is well structured but it is flawed because it lacks specificity defining mental pain. This amendment defines a subset of patients that could be relieved of unnecessary pain. Unfortunately patients with mental illness could request euthanasia because the bill text says that patients suffering from intractable "physical or mental pain" can request assisted suicide. For example, patients suffering from chronic and untreatable mental pain due to severe depression could ask for euthanasia. However patients with mental illness are non capable of informed consent before the law, so they are not covered by the Bill. Furthermore we can ask ourselves how many of the patients would beg for assisted suicide because of a treatable depression or grief due to their illness. The Bill should be more specific and solve these issues to avoid unnecessary controversy, unnecessary requests, and giving euthanasia in possibly treatable cases.