Dear Editor,
Regarding doctor assisted dying, approval of euthanasia or “mercy killing” need not be, should not be, and is not a done deal.
At a local meeting held Jan. 30, the majority of doctors spoke strongly against being asked to be part of ending the life of their patients.
The doctors stated that they have been trained to heal and to provide care for their patients, not to be part of a killing process.
A palliative care doctor in attendance stated that in this day and age of good pain management, palliative and hospice care, it is not necessary for a patient to die in excruciating pain.
In September 2015, British parliamentarians voted 330-118 against a bill that would have enlisted doctors to help kill suicidal patients.
As one British MP and medical doctor stated, “I have never considered that death was a good treatment for anything.”
Canada’s parliament would be wise to listen to our medical doctors and to follow suit.
Ginny VanderHorst, Langley City
