BC Health Minister says he will force the Delta Hospice to kill.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director - Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Sign the petition: Hospice Organizations Must NOT be Forced to do Euthanasia (Link).

The BC Health Minister, Adrian Dix, declared yesterday that the BC government will take action if the Delta hospice refuses to kill its patients.

Adrian Dix has suggested that they will stop funding the 10 bed Delta Hospice if it refuses to kill.

On December 2, I reported that the Board of the Delta BC Hospice Society that operates the Irene Thomas Hospice in Ladner BC, renewed its position opposing euthanasia (MAiD) while supporting excellent care. The Board stated:

MAiD is not compatible with the Delta Hospice Society purposes stated in the society's constitution, and therefore, will not be performed at the Irene Thomas Hospice.

In its recent Call to Action, the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association and the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians stated that MAiD (euthanasia) is not part of hospice palliative care. They stated:

MAiD is not part of hospice palliative care; it is not an “extension” of palliative care nor is it one of the tools “in the palliative care basket”. National and international hospice palliative care organizations are unified in the position that MAiD is not part of the practice of hospice palliative care. 

...Hospice palliative care sees dying as a normal part of life and helps people to live and die well. Hospice palliative care does not seek to hasten death or intentionally end life. 

The Delta Optimist newpaper reported, on December 7, that Fraser Health informed the Delta Hospice that their position is at odds with the policy of Fraser Health. A spokesperson for Fraser Health told the Delta Optimist that:

The region noted it fully supports a patient’s right to receive medical assistance in dying wherever they may be, including in a hospice setting.

The position of the Delta Hospice is not new. In February 2018, the Delta Hospice was ordered by Fraser Health to provide euthanasia. The Delta Hospice did not comply with the Fraser Health edict.

If the Delta Hospice closes, the residents of Delta will lose the 10 bed hospice that is known for providing excellent end-of-life care.

If the Delta Hospice is forced to do euthanasia, then all Canadian Hospice groups will be forced to do euthanasia.

Sign the petition: Hospice Organizations Must NOT be Forced to do Euthanasia (Link).