Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel Report: End-Of-Life Decision Making – November 14, 2011
Death is an inevitable consequence of life. Yet most Canadians have never discussed end of life directives and wishes with family members or caregivers.
Assisted suicide and euthanasia are contentious issues, ones currently prohibited under the Criminal Code of Canada. Yet a substantial majority of Canadians support the decriminalization of assisted dying.
The Royal Society of Canada’s Expert Panel on End-of-Life Decision Making (RSC EOL Panel), a group of experts in bioethics, clinical medicine, health law and policy, and philosophy, release their final report, bringing clarity to this critically important issue.
- As a nation do we have coherent policies or sufficient standards for our end-of-life care?
- Have we planned personally and as a society for end of life decisions?
- Do all Canadians have access to high quality palliative care?
- What end of life clinical and legal uncertainties remain to be resolved in Canada?
To help answer some of these questions the SMCC held a webinar with three members of the Royal Society of Canada’s Expert Panel:
Udo Schuklenk, RSC Panel Chair, Professor of Philosophy and Ontario Research Chair in Bioethics, Queen’s University.
Daniel Weinstock, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Ethics and Philosophy, Université de Montréal (CREUM).
Ross Upshur, MD, MSC, Canada Research Chair in Primary Care Research and Professor, Departments of Family and Community Medicine and Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto; Director, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics.
Jocelyn Downie, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy and Professor, Faculties of Law and Medicine, Dalhousie University
Downloads:
The full slide presentation is available here.
Segments:
2. Ross Upshur
