Catholic hospital ordered to provide medically-assisted suicide

Authorities in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia have ordered a Catholic hospital to provide physician-assisted suicide assessments to eligible patients who request them, reports CNN.

The assessments will be carried out in the Antigonish Health and Wellness Centre, a building connected to St. Martha's Regional Hospital, said Tim Guest, the vice president of the Nova Scotia Health Authority, who was quoted by CNN.

The Sisters of St. Martha, the order of nuns who used to run the hospital, have released a statement saying, "Medical Assistance in Dying will not take place in Saint Martha's Regional Hospital."

The facility was previously exempt from the requirement to provide physician-assisted suicide because of its faith-based identity.

The ruling honors an agreement between the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the Sisters, after both groups agreed to respect the hospital's religious values while also obeying the law, said Guest.

[Photo from Nova Scotia Health Authority's website nshealth.ca]