Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Good evening, everyone. I'd like to extend our thanks to each of you for all the long hours that you've put in here doing some very important work for us. Thank you very much.
In the Islamic faith tradition, neither euthanasia nor assisted suicide is supported or encouraged. However, since that matter has already been decided by the Supreme Court, our concerns and recommendations regarding Bill C-14 centre around three things: safeguarding the interests of patients in distress, minimizing errors, and conscience protection for health care providers and faith-based facilities.
Most Canadians would agree that life is sacred and that an effort should be made in most if not all circumstances to preserve it. The Koran highlights the importance of saving a life. In verse 5:32 it says: “Whosoever saves a life, it is as if they had saved humanity entirely.” Undoubtedly, the issue of assisted dying is of concern to many Canadians. Canadians are caring people. When we see others in pain and distress, we want to help.
Muslim faith leaders, along with those of other faiths, have a long tradition of caring for the ill. We have witnessed first-hand the terrible toll that illnesses and pain can take on patients and their families. We understand that in some cases, patients experiencing extreme levels of pain and suffering and those expecting the same in the future may desire an end to their life. We empathize with them, and as we draw from our faith traditions, we are instructed to pray for them to gain relief from their suffering and to try our best to make them comfortable by providing the best possible care.
We also know that when a human being voluntarily seeks an end to their life, it is a testament to the extreme pain and distress that they are experiencing or that they are fearing. It is a cry for help.
Whenever an individual seeks to end their life, we as a society know not to grant them their wish. Rather, we offer them compassionate care and assistance with the aim of alleviating the pain and distress that they're experiencing. We never assist them in ending their lives and instead make efforts to dissuade them from doing so.
Requests for death due to pain and distress caused by illnesses or disabilities should be dealt with in a similar manner.
We therefore recommend: first, that under safeguards, Bill C-14 require medical practitioners to ensure that after making a request for assisted death, patients are met by an end-of-life care team consisting of a psychiatrist, a social worker, and, if the patient so wishes, a spiritual care provider; second, that members of the end-of-life care team be required to discuss with patients the reasons for the request and present all available care options to ensure that patients are voluntarily making informed decisions; third, that the end-of-life care team and the medical practitioner confirm that all available treatments and pain reduction techniques have been exhausted and that they have not been able to make the suffering tolerable for the patient under conditions that they consider acceptable.
While Bill C-14 offers some safeguards, we believe there should also be measures in place to ensure that patients and the vulnerable are protected from errors that could have serious consequences. We therefore also recommend that the ability to provide assistance in dying, including access to substances that cause death, be limited to specially trained and certified health care practitioners authorized by the Minister of Health and the Minister of Justice.
This would entail modifying the text of the bill by adding the phrase, “authorized by the Minister of Health and the Minister of Justice” after all references to medical practitioner or nurse practitioner when referring to those permitted to provide assistance in dying.
We are also very concerned about the protection of conscience rights of health care providers and faith-based facilities. Conscience rights should be given the same level of importance as the patient's right to seek assistance in dying. In our view, the level of disengagement from assisted death should be at the discretion of individual health care providers and faith-based care facilities and should be publicly disclosed to would-be patients. This should be specified in the bill.
We firmly believe that as Canadians we must do more to provide compassionate care to those who are ill and to find better and more effective ways to alleviate their suffering and improve their quality of life. We believe it is possible for the federal and provincial governments to respect the Carter decision while promoting the sanctity and value of life.
Instead of encouraging death, let us come together to enhance and cherish life. Thank you very much.