Assisted dying and palliative care in three jurisdictions: Flanders, Oregon, and Quebec

An increasing number of jurisdictions around the world are legalizing assisted dying. This creates a particular challenge for the field of palliative care, which often precludes producing premature death by the injection or self-administration of lethal medications upon a patient's voluntary request. A 2019 systematic scoping review of the literature about the relationship between palliative care and assisted dying in contexts where assisted dying is lawful, found just 16 relevant studies that included varied and combined stances ranging from complete opposition, to collaboration and integration. Building on that review, the present study was conducted in Quebec (Canada), Flanders (Belgium), and Oregon (USA), with the objective of exploring the relationship between palliative care and assisted dying in these settings, from the perspective of clinicians and other professionals involved in the practice.