Québec euthanasia kit offers no effective oversight over life and death.

Alex Schadenberg

By Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

According to an article written by Sharon Kirkey and published by postmedia, the Québec government will distribute euthanasia kits with step by step instructions for killing patients. The Québec government is following a similar protocol to the Netherlands euthanasia law.

After several years of language games, it is clear that the Québec government has given physicians the right, in law, to kill their patients by lethal injection. The article states:

Modelled on a formula used in the Netherlands, the Quebec protocol calls for a three-phase approach to assisted death via lethal injection. 

First, a benzodiazepine, a of sedative, would be injected to help control anxiety and "help calm the patient," Robert said. 

Next, a barbiturate drug would be injected to induce a coma. The third step would be a neuromuscular block, a derivative of curare that acts on the respiratory muscles to cause "cardiorespiratory arrest."

Euthanasia is about life and death. Errors or abuse of the law results in death.

Under the Québec euthanasia law, doctors will be sent euthanasia kits where the only actual oversight is a report that is sent-in after the death of the person by the doctor who lethally injected that person. Since the doctor who lethal injects a person is also the one who reports the death, the oversight is not only easily abused but it is impossible to prove that the "safeguards" in the law are being followed.

Clearly the system will allow abuse or maybe the Québec government is naive in thinking that doctors will never abuse their new found power over life and death.

The Québec euthanasia law gives doctors the right in law to lethally inject their patients for physical or psychological reasons.