Policy Resolution 165

165. Death with Dignity: Legalizing Medically-Assisted Death

WHEREAS, the choice to take one’s life when terminally ill is extremely personal, and adult patients suffering from a terminal disease should reserve the right to decide when their life ends and when their suffering ends;

WHEREAS health care professionals, the family and the patient would be better protected by a regulatory framework for medically-assisted death;

WHEREAS Canadians and national bodies such as the Royal Society of Canada and the Senate of Canada have recognized that end-of-life decision-making is a critically important public policy issue;

WHEREAS Quebec has recently made the argument that medically-assisted death constitutes an important part of end-of-life care;

WHEREAS the evidence from jurisdictions which allow some form of voluntary medically-assisted death demonstrates that the vulnerable can be protected;

BE IT RESOLVED that voluntary medically-assisted death be de-criminalized after a public consultation process designed to make recommendations to Parliament with respect to the criteria for access and the appropriate oversight system for medically-assisted end-of-life.

BE IT RESOLVED that the Liberal Party of Canada commits to working with the professional medical community and relevant stakeholders in a collaborative effort to establish professional protocols in relation to de-criminalizing medically-assisted death in Canada.

National Women’s Liberal Commission

Young Liberals of Canada