I've periodically followed the assisted suicide debate from outside the box   
   and haven't really gone one way or the other. Several years ago one of the   
   advocates for the then status quo brought forward the situation in Belgium,   
   which was referenced to a    
   study by an independent body.   
      
   It seems that Belgium is one of the most densely occupied countries on the   
   planet and principally for this reason, quite a number of years ago legalized   
   assisted suicide if: a) requested by the patient or a close relative where the   
   patient was not able    
   to request, and; b) the authorization certificate was signed by two practicing   
   physicians. At the time it was thought that there would be no more than a few   
   dozen a year.   
      
   Ten years after legalization, an independent body did a study of all the   
   assisted suicides that had occurred in Belgium. The first finding was that   
   there were then more than 350 assisted suicides a year happening. During the   
   first few years of the    
   program, the stipulations in a) and b) above had been adhered to, but in more   
   recent years compliance had fallen off. In the year the study was performed   
   10% of the assisted suicides didn't occur at the request of the patient or a   
   relative. In the other    
   90%, many of the assisted suicides had no certificate signed by two practicing   
   physician.   
      
   Could a similar situation develop in Canada? This week CBC told us that   
   contrary to the law on medically marijuana, which requires a prescription   
   issued by a doctor, many of the prescriptions in Vancouver are being issued by   
   nurses who have no access to    
   the person's medical history.   
      
   JL 02-06-15   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)