(Quebec) The Minister for Health, Sonia Bélanger, believes that it is “really inappropriate” for a funeral complex in Montérégie to offer its customers to rent its showroom to receive medical assistance in dying there. . “I am completely against this phenomenon which arises”, she declares, asking her teams to indicate to her if this practice respects the law.
When she read The Press Friday, M.me Bélanger experienced “significant unease” when he learned that the Haut-Richelieu funeral complex offered its customers to receive medical assistance in dying on its premises. The family business asks for an amount of approximately $700 to rent its showroom, fitted out according to the wishes of the patients. The amount disbursed is not used to pay for the care, provided by a doctor, since it is covered by health insurance. Groups like the Quebec Association for the Right to Die with Dignity support this emerging practice.
“From the outset, I am completely against this emerging phenomenon. […] I wonder about the urgency of offering these services,” said Minister Bélanger.
“The mission of funeral homes is to organize funerals. To pay homage. To organize burials. All work related to cemeteries, rituals and celebrations. They have an important mission, but establishing links with medical assistance in dying is a subject that requires a great deal of caution. I think it’s really inappropriate at this stage, ”she adds.
According to the Minister, the health establishments are perfectly capable of providing care, which they already do. While having in mind the respect of the will of the patients, she judges that the congestion of the hospitals does not justify for the moment that the private sector gets involved.
“You really have to be careful to mention that the hospitals are congested and that for this the private sector will carve out a place of choice. I’m really not here this morning. On the contrary. It’s a process that’s important and I think our public network has what it takes to get it right,” says Ms.me Belanger.
“I really don’t want to highlight the fact that the private sector is going to carve out a place of business [avec l’aide médicale à mourir]. I am very uncomfortable with it, ”she continues.
What the law says ?
In the Act respecting end-of-life carethat Mme Bélanger is reforming these days with the study of Bill 11, it is expected that medical assistance in dying will be offered “in a facility maintained by an establishment, on the premises of a palliative care home or at home “. The term “establishment” means within the meaning of the law “any establishment covered by the Act respecting health services and social services that operates a local community service centre, a hospital center or a residential and long-term care centre”.
Asked if the offer from the Haut-Richelieu funeral complex complies with the law, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) says it is unable to answer.
“The question raised deserves further reflection and the consideration of elements that are not only legal, for example on the ethical, deontological [et] on the standards of practice”, we say in Quebec.
For her part, Sonia Bélanger assures that the objective of Bill 11 “is certainly not to publicize this process and even less to market it”.
The opposition does not want a gray area
On the opposition side, the spokespersons for the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), Quebec solidaire (QS) and the Parti Quebecois (PQ) are all surprised to learn that a funeral home offers its facilities to receive medical assistance in dying.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Member of Parliament for Québec solidaire in the riding of Sherbrooke, Christine Labrie
“We have to ask ourselves questions, especially since it’s already a service that is offered in at least one place. […] Me, I interpret that as an illegal practice, ”says solidarity MP Christine Labrie.
“It deserves a whole collective reflection before deciding to go there. Services like these involve some form of promotion of medical assistance in dying. I am extremely uncomfortable with the situation and I would like the minister to quickly clarify [ce qu’en dit la loi] before others start developing services like these,” she asks.
Jennifer Maccarone of the Liberal Party believes that the government has a duty to ensure that there are no gray areas in its legislation. “What worries us, [c’est] especially when it comes to ethical issues regarding the marketing and promotion of medical assistance in dying,” she says.
For PQ MP Joël Arseneau, “end-of-life care, like any other health care, is not commercial goods and services” and the government must not “give a lucrative nature to end-of-life care. life “.
How far will it go?
Former MP Véronique Hivon, who is described as the godmother of the law which regulated medical assistance in dying, says that the room rental offered at the Montérégie funeral home does not respect the intention of the legislator .
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Former PQ MP Véronique Hivon
“Medical assistance in dying is end-of-life care. It is not a service that can be marketed. This is why the law is clear on the places where the care can be done, that is to say in a health establishment, in a palliative care home or at home, ”she says.
Mme Hivon also pleads that a private company which offers to rent its room to receive the care “is tantamount to directly or indirectly promoting medical assistance in dying”. According to her, “the promotion of medical assistance in dying is something we do not want to see” and which must “at all times come from the request of a person, accompanied by a medical team who knows the ins and outs and outcomes [du soin] “.