Madam Speaker, from my perspective, the elimination of certain stages dramatically changes the potential context for a person receiving euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Right now, the requirements to have a couple of independent witnesses and a little waiting period address the possible risk related to somebody who, for a few hours or a relatively short period of time, feels in the depths of despair and then recovers. The idea of the existing safeguards is to ensure that a person is not pushed into this decision without family members around, without talking to anybody, as it can be the result of a thought process that could last for a relatively short period of time.
The minister knows that in certain circumstances the 10-day waiting period can be waived already. Why is the minister removing safeguards like additional witnesses and the 10-day waiting period, which occurs most of the time but not all the time? Why is he creating a situation in which people could, as a result of a relatively short-term sense of vulnerability and thought process, make a decision they might at any other time in their life not make?