feature
to confirm that the patient wishes to proceed,
and respects the patient’s wishes if he/she
decides not to proceed immediately prior to
receiving physician-assisted death.
5 The Interim Guidance document
requires that the second request for
physician-assisted death be countersigned by an independent witness.
What is meant by “independent” in this
context?
The requirement that the second request
for physician-assisted death be witnessed
serves as formal confirmation of the patient’s wishes. It is a means of providing
assurances to the attending physician and
other interested parties that the patient has
clearly requested and consented to physician-assisted death. The role of “witness”
in this context is appropriately fulfilled by
an independent party. Generally, an “independent witness” has no financial and/
or personal interest in the patient’s decision to pursue physician-assisted death. A
witness may not be seen to be independent
if they are entitled to a significant portion
of the patient’s estate or a beneficiary of the
patient’s insurance policy.
6 What should I do if I come to the
conclusion that the patient does not
meet the criteria for physician-assisted
death, and the patient disagrees?
Such situations will be challenging and
emotionally charged. Where the attending
or consulting physician and patient do not
agree on whether the criteria for physicianassisted death has been met, the physician
must tell the patient that he/she is entitled
to a second opinion from another physician. That physician would then Y