Professor Desmond O'Neill:

The challenge, as Dr. Chochinov said to the committee at its previous meeting, is that people wax and wane. At particular moments, people have thoughts about wanting to die and then not wanting to die. Predicting what is going to be difficult or a challenge is actually very difficult. If we were to start thinking that over 40,000 people in Canada were all in intractable suffering that could not be treated, it really seems most unrealistic and unlikely, or one in 20 of the deaths in the Netherlands. It is magical to think that this can be restricted. This is a light switch; it is on or it is off.