The Supreme Court of Canada, in its original ruling on MAID, stated that physicians would not be compelled to provide assistance in dying--but the addition of "effective referral" to the Standard would do just that. I admire men and women of integrity who take a stand for what they believe in. In this case, it is the sanctity of life. When they are compelled to refer, without delay, to a practitioner who participates in MAID, not only are their conscience rights being being violated, but patients are not encouraged or given opportunities to evaluate alternatives to MAID. When depressed people or the mentally ill are at their lowest, MAID probably seems more attractive than fighting their way back. But many people have, and our lives have been enriched by them and by the physicians who treated them. Those are the physicians I want treating me when I'm ill. I have seen MAID in action, and I have seen the trauma of the people who were left behind. An effective referral not only violates the rights of the physician; it affects the loved ones who would have been only too happy to see their son, daughter, husband, wife, or child receive treatment--if only that treatment option had been offered and explained to them.