Delta Hospice looking at legal options after government cuts funding.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Article: Delta Hospice - Not yet forced to do euthanasia (Link).

The Canadian Press reported that a hospice society in British Columbia is outraged by the governments decision to stop its funding because it refuses to provide (MAiD) euthanasia.

Petition: Hospice Organizations Must Not Be Forced to do euthanasia (Link).

Angelina Ireland, President of the Delta Hospice, told the Canadian Press:

...if the government wants to implement medical help in dying then it should create facilities for people who want the procedure. 

The government should not be allowed to put medically assisted death "on the backs" of facilities that provide hospice and palliative care services, she said.

Angelina Ireland

Ireland explains how they have handled the three requests for MAiD that they have received:

Over the past three years, three people have asked for medically assisted death at the hospice, she said. 

"All I can say is they were transferred out to their preferred location — two went home and one went next door to the Delta Hospital, one minute away,"

Ireland is concerned with the lack of access to palliative care beds in British Columbia. She stated:

...palliative care beds in the province are becoming scarce. 

"We are gravely concerned for the future of hospice and palliative care in British Columbia,"

The battle is not over. The British Columbia government will continue to fund the Delta Hospice Society until February 24, 2021. In the meantime, the Delta Hospice Society is considering its legal options.

Attend the Rally to Support The Delta Hospice Society at the Parliament buildings in Victoria BC on April 4, 2020.

Article: BC Hospice challenges closure over government's pro-euthanasia policy (Link).