In a medical journal article published this month, Canadian anesthesiologists raise concerns about physician assisted suicide:
Euthanasia usually involves a three-step process: a drug to relax the patient, a general anesthetic such as propofol to induce an artificial coma, and, finally, a neuromuscular block that causes respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest and death.
During surgery, “We take a lot of care with our monitoring and our assessment of the patient to judge depths of anesthesia,” Mack said. But if an error is made during euthanasia — and the muscle relaxant injected before the person is in a coma deep enough to prevent feeling the effects — he or she could die by suffocation while paralyzed, but conscious.
It seems like the lawyers at the Supreme Court of Canada were making decisions best left to …well …actual doctors:
In an interview, Mack said doctors are feeling pressured. “A timeline set by the Supreme Court for legislation is one thing, but for us to actually get to the point we can safely provide it is another…”
Shocking. Well, not really.
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