Majority of Canada's new generation of doctors would offer medical aid in dying, study finds

A new study out ofMcGill University shows that the next generation of Canadian physicians will be more open to helping their ailing patients end their lives throughmedical assistance in dying (MAID).

Of 1,200 medical students surveyedduring the 2016-2017academic year, 71 per cent reported they would be willing to provide legalmedical assistance in dying to their patients.

The study wasconducted by ateam made up of researchers from themedicine, law, and sociology faculties at McGillwho published their results in thepeer-reviewed research journalBMC Medical Ethics,earlier this month.

James Falconer, one of the study's co-authors and a PhD candidate in thesociology department, explained that the team wanted to hear from future doctors specifically.

"This was going to be the first class of medical students that was going to graduate into a new legal landscape and medical landscape in Canada," he explained.

Medical assistance in dying has been legal in Canada since 2016.

• The next frontier in the 'right to die': advance requests, minors and the mentally ill

Results vary across the country

Researchers surveyed students across Canada and found that their data reflected variations based on the respondents' religious backgrounds and geography.

The study found that more medicalstudents from Quebecwere willing to provide MAID, whilemore students from Alberta were not.

Falconer said this isn't a huge cause for concern, since Alberta came in only a few points lower than the national average, with 63 per cent of students saying they would be willing.

The rate of response for Quebec was well above the average, at 85 per cent.

Thestudy also found that the students who reported being more religious and attending a high frequency of religious activities were less willing.

Falconer said that he hopes this data will help advance the conversation in Canada, adding that, to his knowledge, this was the largest survey in North America on this issue to date.

• Access to medical aid in dying unequal across Quebec, report finds

A reportexamining the impact of Quebec's end-of-life care law was tabled inthe National Assembly last Wednesday, revealing thataccess to aid in dying is unequal across the province.

So far, 1,632 people have received a medically assisted death in Quebec. From 2016 to 2017, the number of people who received medical aid to dieincreased by 73 per cent, according to the report.