Subsequent to an intensive three-year period of reflection, the CMQ is revealing its perspective and conclusions today regarding end-of-life care and euthanasia. The CMQ embraces the point of view of the patient who is confronting imminent and inevitable death. In such a situation, the patient looks to their physician and generally requests that they be able to die without undue suffering and with dignity. Neither surveys, nor attorneys, nor politicians can properly advise the physician and the patient facing this situation. In the majority of cases, the patient and their doctor find the appropriate analgesia that respects the ethical obligation of physicians not to preserve life at any cost, but rather, when the death of a patient appears to be inevitable, to act so that it occurs with dignity and to ensure that the patient obtains the appropriate support and relief.
The GMC has responded to the consultation documents from the Directors of Public Prosecution for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland, explaining why the GMC does not take a position on assisted suicide.
“The current legal status of assisted dying is inadequate and incoherent...” The Commission on Assisted Dying was set up in September 2010 to consider whether the current legal and policy approach to assisted dying in England and Wales is fit for purpose. In addition to evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the legal status quo, the Commission also set out to explore the question of what a framework for assisted dying might look like, if such a system were to be implemented in the UK, and what approach to assisted dying might be most acceptable to health and social care professionals and to the general public.
Un débat interne à l’ensemble de l’Institution ordinale a été conduit avant cette expression publique. Il en résulte que la fin de la vie d’une personne dans ces situations implique profondément le corps médical selon les principes éthiques de bienfaisance et d’humanité. L’Ordre national des médecins propose donc de promouvoir une meilleure connaissance de la loi Leonetti et d’envisager des améliorations susceptibles de répondre à des situations exceptionnelles. L’Ordre national des médecins apportera sa contribution au débat sociétal quant à l’euthanasie délibérée et au suicide assisté.