Is It Time to Get MAD?

Like the rest of Canada, the vast majority of Quebecers do not have access to comprehensive, quality, palliative end-of-life care. Nevertheless, despite every substantive argument, compelling study, troubling precedent and cautionary tale regarding physician-hastened death, the Quebec Government has passed Bill 52 - a Bill legalizing euthanasia or what is euphemistically being called medical aid in dying (MAD). While the Bill purports to ensure that "everyone may have access, throughout the continuum of care, to quality care that is appropriate to their needs, including prevention and relief of suffering," it states that organizational structures, institutions and palliative care hospices will carry out this mandate "within the limits of the human, material and financial resources at their disposal." Perhaps, given the limitation of those resources, the only detail Bill 52 provides regarding how they will fulfill their mandate pertains to the administration and tracking of MAD. How will Quebecers feel when they realize that while their healthcare system can offer them euthanasia, it cannot assure them or their loved ones, access to healthcare professionals proficient in palliative care? All of which begs the question, is it really time to get MAD?