As Canada continues to grapple with how far it will go in allowing assisted suicide, a coaltion of religious organizations has issued a call to expand palliative care, not only in Canada, but worldwide.
As a follow-up to an international Interfaith Symposium on Palliative Care that took place in May, a working group has released a list of six recommendations to help others recognize the benefits of the practice, which seeks to ease pain and suffering for those facing terminal illnesses.
The May 21-23,2024 Symposium in Toronto was organized by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) in partnership with the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV), as well as other collaborators.
The Post-Symposium Working Group that authored the Statement and Recommendations, comprised of leading academic experts in palliative care from Canada and the US, has proposed steps to promote a culture of palliative care that respects human dignity and the sanctity of life.
The statement considers the Christian roots of palliative care as a “model of care” which seeks to prevent and ameliorate the physical as well as the spiritual and psychosocial suffering of those facing serious, life-threatening, or life-limiting illness.
It highlights the “deep sense of resolve and concern” expressed by a growing network of stakeholders to ensure that comprehensive and quality palliative care is available to all at the end of life.
The six recommendations in the areas of education, policy, and community engagement outline tasks for the Working Group and its network of stakeholders who are interested in the expansion and promotion of palliative care. They are:
- In the Canadian context, implement the 67th World Health Assembly (2014)’s call for WHO member states to “strengthen palliative care as a component of comprehensive care throughout the life course” by establishing palliative care as an essential medical service under the Canada Health Act.
- Promote an authentic vision and practice of palliative care that is separate and distinct from euthanasia and assisted suicide, and where there are laws permitting euthanasia, find ways to limit and lessen the harms done by such a law.
- Advocate for the necessary legal protections for healthcare professionals and institutions who do not provide euthanasia and assisted suicide because of the incompatibility of these practices with their beliefs, mission, or values.
- Expand communication, education, and advocacy efforts regarding early and comprehensive palliative care to grassroots organizations, such as schools and parishes (for example, see the CCCB and partners’ Horizons of Hope: A Toolkit for Catholic Parishes on Palliative Care).
- Engage in conversations and partnerships for action with various faith communities and others to promote access to palliative care as part of advancing the common good.
- Challenge all peoples of faith and all those who align with the vision described in this statement to prioritize promoting access for all to palliative care interna- tionally and to advocate for the sharing of religious and global resources to this end (for example, see the Pontifical Academy for Life, White Book for Global Palliative Care Advocacy).
