Straight talk on dying: Know all your options

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On  Sunday, March 10, at 1:00 p.m., Wanda Morris, Executive Director of Dying with Dignity will present a free two-hour workshop, open to all, at the Unitarian Church of Montreal.  Ms. Morris will review options available to patients receiving end-of-life health care and ways to ensure that one’s wishes are followed. Small group discussions, co-facilitated by Ms. Morris and Rev. Diane Rollert, will also be part of the program.

A panel of legal experts recently recommended that the Quebec government allow “medical assistance to die” in rare cases where a patient is unable to endure physical or psychological pain.  This recommendation has been welcomed by some and castigated by others, on the basis that increased palliative care facilities would make such recommendations unnecessary.

Although assisted suicide and euthanasia are banned in Canada under the Criminal Code, proponents of the new recommendations look to Belgium and Oregon for information about persons and situations where medically-assisted deaths have taken place. However, the conditions under which terminally ill patients in Quebec could end their lives would be more stringent.

A workshop presented by Dying with Dignity will take place on Sunday, March 10, at 1:00 pm at the Unitarian Church of Montreal, 5035 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West,  514-485-9933.  The church is close to the Vendôme Métro station and can also be reached by Buses #90, 102, 104, and 105.

For more information: www.ucmtl.ca  or  info@dyingwithdignity.ca