Dear Editor:
We have heard that MAID (medical assistance in dying) has been offered to people in place of treatment geared to getting better (MAID is considered treatment).
MAID is considered a “natural death.” Doctors as a group must end a person’s life under qualifying conditions, but they do not as a group have the right not to kill people. I can not think of any other sector in society working under these conditions. MAID is considered palliative care in Ontario.
The government can state they have increased the budget for palliative care and direct the money to MAID. As MAID statistics have been moved from the coroner to the health department, numbers are hidden.
If doctors bill four times a year for a collection of services under palliative care, there is a $2,000 bonus. Ten times a year means a $5,000 dollar bonus. I doubt that this amount will have much influence but it does present a rather negative image.
Chris Woode,
Fergus