NCJ Number
101837
Date Published
1986
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Drawing on previous studies and papers produced by the Protection of Life Project, this report examines the role of criminal law in various aspects of medical treatment and recommends needed reforms in the Canadian Criminal Code.
Abstract
Analysis focuses on how criminal law can contribute to maintaining life and health, personal autonomy, and self-determination. It is suggested that the primary role of the Code is protecting persons from serious violations of both physical and psychological integrity. It is recommended that causing serious violations of psychological integrity be made an offense. It is further recommended that (1) a competent patient's free and informed consent be a prerequisite for the legality of medical treatment or experimentation, (2) for patient's unable to communicate, consent for treatment be provided by a third party, and (3) competent patients be acknowledged to have a right to refuse any treatment. It is also recommended that life-prolonging treatment without therapeutic value for an incompetent patient may be terminated or not initiated and that physicians should not be subject to criminal liability for administering appropriate palliative care, even if the patient's life expectancy is reduced thereby.