Members of a health-care team offering medically assisted death in Nova Scotia will not be prosecuted.
The province’s Public Prosecution Service issued a directive on Thursday saying it will not prosecute any physicians or members of a health-care team, so long as the process falls within the scope of the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2015 Carter ruling on the issue.
When the deadline the court set for the federal government to enact legislation came and went on June 6, colleges for health-care professionals started expressing concern about whether or not members would be protected from prosecution.
Addressing concerns
The Nova Scotia colleges of physicians and surgeons, nurses and pharmacists all wrote to the province asking for clarity on the matter. While the Carter decision is clear about doctors being protected, it isn’t for anyone else.
Martin Herschorn, director of the Public Prosecution Service, said those requests are what led to the directive.
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“While the Carter decision clearly addressed physicians’ situations, there was a lack of clarity, which we’ve tried to fill — clarify with respect to other health-care providers,” he said. “We’ve tried to encompass all of the health-care providers with this directive.”
The directive applies to doctors, nurses, pharmacists and any other regulated health-care professional who might participate as part of the care team.
Following other provinces’ lead
The Public Prosecution Service consulted with police prior to issuing the directive. Herschorn said the move is similar to what’s already happened in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, British Columbia and Alberta.
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Dr. Gus Grant, registrar and CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, said he was pleased by the directive.
“For us, that removes what was really the only lingering concern about whether this service could be delivered easily in the absence of federal legislation,” he said.
Dr. Gus Grant, registrar and CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia. (CBC)
Heather Totton, director of professional conduct and registration services at the College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia, agreed.
Without federal legislation there was a gap in terms of clarity for nurses and other medical professionals who aren’t doctors but might be involved in an assisted-death case. That, in essence, created a chilling effect, she said.
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“We feel this directive goes a long way to providing that clarity.”
The directive from the province will remain in place until there is federal legislation.