Some health-care workers who either directly provide medical assistance in dying or work in that field say they are strongly opposed to Bill 18 — which, if passed, would prevent doctors or nurse practitioners from administering MAID to patients if they are unlikely to die within the next 12 months.

In a letter published in the Edmonton Journal on Friday and shared with CBC News, 25 health-care workers signed their names to make their opposition known.

"The proposed mandates and sanctions place clinicians in ethically untenable positions, undermining professional judgment and eroding trust within the therapeutic relationship," the letter reads, in part.

Doctors and nurse practitioners would be barred from referring a patient out-of-province to be assessed for MAID eligibility.

They would be prohibited from suggesting MAID to any patients as an option — the patient would have to request information on MAID first.

The law would prevent health facilities, such as clinics or continuing care homes, from publicly displaying any information about MAID, to “reduce the risk of undue influence or coercion,” according to briefing from the government.

"We know that this is a conversation that is both sensitive and complex," Justice Minister Mickey Amery said in an interview last week.

"We know that people in this province have very intimate and personal sessions with their doctors, but we also know once again that the entire premise was MAID was a last resort option." 'We are baffled,' says doctor Lethbridge doctor Dionne Walsh is a palliative care physician who provides MAID in southwestern Alberta, and is one of the signatories of the letter.

"We are baffled by the proposed bill that has come out and we're feeling heartbroken for our patients," she said in an interview on Sunday.

Walsh said it will break her heart to have to tell "capable" patients they won't be able to end their life on their terms if this bill passes as written.

"We get into this because we have such compassion for our patients, and we also have a passion for exploring their journey," she said.

"MAID is not death on demand.

And I think the government is painting it that way.

But we have a really robust process that we can look at who is truly eligible, who is truly capable." 'How dare you' Some organizations advocating for people with disabilities are pleased by the legislation, particularly the prohibitions on what's called "track 2" MAID, for people whose death is not immediately foreseeable.

Inclusion Alberta CEO Trish Bowman said her organization supports the legislation and said MAID was leading to medical systems sometimes offering death as an alternative to people....