Having doctors kill patients is not dying with dignity

Editor’s note. The following letter to the editor appeared today in National Post, a Canadian publication, and is reprinted with the author’s permission.

Re: “Dying With Dignity Should Be A Right For Canadians,” letter to the editor, April 19.

The most amazing thing about Francine Lalonde's apology for her euthanasia bill is the amount of false and misleading information she was able to fit into such a short letter. First, palliative care does alleviate suffering and is effective in the vast majority of patients. When the usual measures are insufficient, other things, such as sedation, can be offered. I don't know a single palliative care physician who thinks euthanasia is good or necessary.

Second, there is no consensus favouring euthanasia among physicians, even in Quebec. The College des medecin produced its report without consulting its membership. The two surveys Ms. Lalonde refers to had biased questions and an exceedingly low response rate.

Third, the slippery slope has definitely materialized in jurisdictions where euthanasia is legal. In the Netherlands, euthanasia is administered routinely to patients who are not terminally ill but rather have chronic diseases or psychological distress; to patients who are incapable of consenting or who are capable but were not consulted; and to children, including newborns.

Dying with dignity should indeed be a right for all Canadians, but Ms. Lalonde's proposal of allowing doctors to kill patients is the worst possible way of reaching this goal.

Dr. Catherine Ferrier, Montreal.