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Patricia Piironen

When a patient is suffering and has been informed that there is no cure or chance of recovery, the attending physician or healthcare provider has an obligation to inform the patient of ALL care options, including the provision of MAID. Today it is possible to prolong a patient's life beyond what is humane, without any quality of life. A person should have the ability to choose how they live but also how they die. This is in the constitution. It is therefore absolutely imperative that a patient can be reassured that MAID is an option, that they do not need to worry about going through the agony of being transferred to another facility where MAID will be provided because of "conscionable objection". When a person requests and is granted MAID, it brings them peace of mind because they are in control during a time of pain and suffering, during a time when they are not in control of what is happening to their body. Doesn't the Hippocratic oath state: "Do not harm"? Watching a person suffer with no help in sight constitute of doing harm?

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