from the CBC Manitoba website;
The body overseeing Manitoba's doctors is considering giving physicians the authority to stop or withhold medical treatment, even if the patient or family disagrees.
Okay, before we go any further, do you see what I see? There have been cases where the family and the physician disagree over the continuation of treatment. But the patient? The patient ? I'm just going to sit on this one for a bit.
"Hi Doc, I'd like this treatment to continue a bit longer."
Well, come on, Joe. There are other people lined up for your parking space. It's at a premium near the University you know. You can park there through the winter, but come spring time...
"Are you sure Doc, I mean, couldn't we strike a deal or something?"
You know the old saying, Joe: Doctor knows best. Now just quit putting up such a fuss...
Well maybe that isn't quite the scenario they have in mind. But then again...
Jocelyn Downie, a law and medicine professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says the final decision should rest with patients and their families.
"At stake is decision-making at the end of life. Deciding when we should stop treating and recognizing the decision doesn't belong to physicians," said Downie.
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