2nd Session,
36th Parliament, THE SENATE OF CANADA
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BILL S-2 |
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An Act to facilitate the making of legitimate medical decisions |
Preamble | WHEREAS the Special Senate Committee on
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, appointed on February 23, 1994, addressed in its
proceedings the medical practices of the withholding and withdrawal of life-sustaining
treatment and the provision of treatment to alleviate suffering that might result in the
shortening of life; AND WHEREAS, in its report entitled Of Life and Death, dated June 6, 1995, the Committee recognized the existence of uncertainty within the medical profession and public of Canada regarding the legal consequences of these medical practices; AND WHEREAS the Committee unanimously recommended that the Criminal Code be amended to allow health care providers to carry out these medical practices in certain cases without the fear of incurring criminal liability in order to ensure that the wishes of patients are honoured and respected; AND WHEREAS the Committee unanimously recommended that the department of Government responsible for the protection and promotion of the health of Canadians, in cooperation with the provincial authorities and associations of health care professionals, establish guidelines regarding these medical practices; AND WHEREAS the Committee unanimously recommended increased public education and improved training of health care professionals in respect of these medical practices; |
NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: | |
Short title | 1. This Act may be cited as the Medical Decisions Facilitation Act. |
No offence committed for pain control | 2. No health care provider is guilty of an offence under the Criminal Code by reason only that the health care provider, for the purpose of alleviating the physical pain of a person but not to cause death, administers medication to that person in dosages that might shorten the life of the person. |
No offence committed for withholding or withdrawing treatment | 3. (1) No health care provider is guilty of an offence under the Criminal Code by reason only that the health care provider withholds or withdraws life-sustaining medical treatment from a person who has made a request within the meaning of subsection (2) that the treatment be withheld or withdrawn. |
Form of request | (2) A request has been made for the purposes of
this section
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Substitute request | (3) Where a person who is not competent and did
not while competent make a request as described in subsection (2), the request may be made
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Definitions | 4. The definitions in this section apply in this Act. |
"competent" «capable» ou «capacité» |
"competent", in respect of a person,
means a person of sound mind who
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"free and informed request" «demande libre et éclairée» |
"free and informed request" " means a request respecting the withholding and withdrawal of life-sustaining medical treatment, made voluntarily, without coercion, duress, fraud, mistake or misrepresentation and with a knowledge and an understanding of the condition, its prognosis, the alternative courses of action and the foreseeable consequences of the request. |
"health care
provider" « soignant » |
"health care provider" means
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"life-sustaining medical
treatment" « traitement de survie » |
"life-sustaining medical treatment" means any medical or surgical procedure or intervention to sustain, restore or supplant a vital function in order to postpone death and, for the avoidance of doubt, includes artificial hydration and nutrition. |
No new obligations imposed | 5. Nothing in this Act imposes any legal duty to provide medical treatment. |
Guidelines, education and research | 6. For the purposes of the
Department of Health Act, the mandate of the Minister of Health to promote and preserve
the health of the people of Canada includes
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