When the B.C. government announced this week that construction had begun on the new St. Paul’s Hospital, it made no mention of an ongoing controversy involving medical assistance in dying.

St. Paul’s Hospital is overseen by the board of Providence Health Care—a Catholic organization that refuses to allow physician-assisted death in any of its facilities.

This is explicitly stated on the organization’s palliative-care referral form.

It assures patients that Providence will appropriately address any patient’s request for medical assistance in dying.

"You may choose to receive medical assistance in dying in your own home, a clinic, or a facility outside Providence Health Care," a Providence booklet states.

So even though the B.C. government is contributing $1.3 billion toward the $2.2-billion hospital on Station Street, patients seeking to exercise their constitutional right to end their lives will have to request a transfer.

That’s because none of the 548 publicly funded beds in the new St. Paul’s Hospital may be used for this purpose, due to the board's policy.

Almost $1 billion from Providence’s sale of the St. Paul’s site at 1081 Burrard Street is also going into the new St. Paul’s Hospital.

That deal with Concord Pacific was announced last year, another sign that this area along Burrard is evolving into one of the city's hottest real estate plays.

Humanists oppose transferring patients

Last year, Health Minister Adrian Dix slashed funding for the Delta Hospice Society when it refused to provide medical assistance in dying.

That prompted the B.C. Humanist Association’s executive director, Ian Bushfield (now on leave), to question why Dix continued allowing an exemption for other faith-based health organizations.

Under service contracts with Providence and other groups, the Ministry of Health permits their facilities to carry out their religious missions while providing public health services. That means no access to abortion or medical assistance in dying in Catholic hospitals.

“Patients seeking MAID [medical assistance in dying] in these facilities are forced to endure an excruciating transfer from their home to realize their rights,” Bushfield said on the association’s website. “These forced transfers undermine the entire premise of a compassionate and dignified death.”

Not every one of these patient moves has gone smoothly. According to the Globe and Mail, Providence apologized to a family after one "botched" transfer from St. Paul's Hospital to Vancouver General Hospital in 2017.

When the man arrived at VGH, there wasn't a proper bed ready for him. This became public following a Dying With Dignity freedom-of-information request.

The Dying With Dignity website includes a form for people to fill out to urge politicians to stop these forced transfers to allow people to choose medically assisted death wherever they may be receiving treatment. 

For its part, the B.C. Humanist Association estimates that taxpayers transferred almost $900 million to six major faith-based healthcare providers in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. The largest portion, $837.3 million, went to Providence that year.

"Each of these institutions receives significantly greater than the 50% public funding threshold set by the province for secular non-profit facilities where MAID is required to be provided," the BCHA stated.