
Quebec's bill to legalize medically assisted suicide has the support of all four parties in the province's national assembly. However, support for Bill 52 is far from unanimous, especially among doctors who would be expected to act on a patient's request for help in dying.
If a physician determines, subsequent to the application of section 28, that medical aid in dying may be administered to a patient requesting it, the physician must administer such aid personally and take care of the patient until their death.
30. A physician practising in a centre operated by an institution who refuses a request for medical aid in dying for a reason not based on section 28 must as soon as possible notify the director of professional services or any other person designated by the executive director of the institution and forward the request form given to the physician, if such is the case, to the director of professional services or designated person. The director of professional services or designated person must then take the necessary steps to find another physician willing to deal with the request in accordance with section 28.
If the physician who receives the request practises in a private health facility and is not associated with a local authority for the administration of medical aid in dying, the physician must as soon as possible notify the director of professional services or any other person designated by the executive director of the local authority, and forward the request form given to the physician, if such is the case, to the director of professional services or designated person. The steps mentioned in the first paragraph must then be taken.