Abstract
The purpose of this text is to tell the story of the implementation of the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care, referred to hereafter as Law 2 (Gouvernement du Québec, 2014) with an emphasis on the ambiguous role of ethics in the Interdisciplinary Support Groups (ISGs), created by Quebec's Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux (MSSS). As established, ISGs provide “clinical, administrative and ethical support to health care professionals responding to a request for Medical aid in dying (MAiD)” (Gouvernement du Québec, 2015). It is suggested that their composition includes the participation of a person with an expertise in ethics. These ISGs represent an important innovation for stakeholders involved in MAiD. To date, no scientific research has specifically addressed ISGs and little research has been conducted in other jurisdictions on the roles, operations and practices of MAiD support structures, especially the implication of ethics. Several ISGs have certainly developed promising practices that could benefit all stakeholders in the wider field of ethics and end of life. We will explore the development of ISGs in Quebec as a support structure for MAiD by highlighting the role that ethics has played (and should play) in these morally and humanly challenging situations.
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Notes
Federal MAiD legislation came into effect in Canada on June 15, 2016, 18 months after the Supreme Court of Canada’s Carter decision.
Physician, nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist, respiratory therapist, spiritual care provider, clinical ethicist, social worker, psychologist, lawyer, manager.
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Acknowledgements
We want to thank the people with whom we had the chance to discuss the ideas and content of this article. The facts reported in the article do not necessarily reflect their thoughts and in no way make them or their organization responsible for the content. Among these people are Michel Lorange, ethicist at the Centre d'éthique du CISSS de Laval, France Cookson, lawyer, nurse and retired director of the CISSS de Laval. Other colleagues ethicists and IGS skateholders have contributed without wanting to be identified. They will recognize themselves. We thank them warmly
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This is a narrative paper about the implementation of MAiD, IGS and the role of Ethics in Quebec. This is not a research project and no human subjects were required. No ethics approval or consent to participate is required.
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Bouthillier, ME., Perron, C., Roigt, D. et al. The Implementation of Assisted Dying in Quebec and Interdisciplinary Support Groups: What Role for Ethics?. HEC Forum 34, 355–369 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10730-022-09484-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10730-022-09484-w