Tag: Tom Koch

(Correspondence) MAID, social determinants and the slippery slope

Tom Koch

Journal of Medical Ethics
Journal of Medical Ethics

Rapid Response: extract
Jocelyn Downie and Udo Schuklenk conclude, first, that the Canadian experience denies the existence of a ‘slippery slope’ expanding medical termination from a limited to a broader medical constituency. Second, they argue a failure to provide social constituents of health and support is a significant factor in the increased requests for ‘medical aide in dying.’ (1) It is hard to credit their conclusions on either point. . . .

. . . As a Canadian long engaged in this debate–legal and social–as well as in the care of those with chronic conditions I thus find their arguments incomplete and their conclusions inaccurate. . .

Koch T. (Rapid Response) MAID, social determinants and the slippery slope. J Med Ethics. 2021 Aug 04;47(10).

The law and physician-assisted dying

Tom Koch

Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Extract
For most Canadians, the arguments that began on Oct. 14, 2014, at the Supreme Court in Ottawa are about medical aid in dying. But what is really at stake in Carter et al v Attorney General of Canada et al is Canadian law itself, the meaning of its guarantees, promises and injunctions.

Koch T. The law and physician-assisted dying. Can Med Assoc J. 2014 Nov 18;186(17):1336.