The head of the independent body that monitors medical aid in dying in Quebec says he worries the practice is no longer being seen by the public as a last resort.
Dr. Michel Bureau says Quebecers have stopped appreciating MAID as an exceptional practice for people with incurable illnesses whose suffering is unbearable.
He says he expects that more than seven per cent of all deaths in the province this year will be doctor-assisted _ more than anywhere else in the world.
Earlier this month, Bureau's commission sent a memo to doctors reminding them of the strict rules governing who is eligible for a physician-assisted death.
He says he fears doctors are being pressured by patients who want to die but who don't qualify for MAID.
Bureau says he doesn't know why MAID has become so popular in Quebec even though the province has rules on the procedure that he thinks are more strict than elsewhere in the country.