Don’t Forget Palliative Care In Discussing Future Of Assisted Death: Experts
TORONTO — With the intense focus on the looming legalization of physician-assisted dying, the kind of help most Canadians facing death will actually seek for easing their suffering seems to have quietly faded into the background.
Yet palliative care is intended to prevent the very end-of-life physical and psychological distress that are at the heart of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to allow patients to pursue medical aid in dying — if they so choose.
“They’re not the same thing, but people seek them out for the same reasons,” Dr. James Downar says of assisted dying and palliative care.
“It’s all about quality of life, not quantity. It’s about autonomy and taking control of their end-of-life circumstances.”