Veronique Hivon accompanies lawyers Michele Giroux and Jean Pierre Menard, Jan. 15, 2013. (QMI Agency/STEVENS LEBLANC)

MONTREAL - Quebec says it has received "with great interest" a report endorsing euthanasia while critics warn that the practice puts vulnerable people's lives at risk.

A three-member committee presented a lengthy report Tuesday to PQ minister Veronique Hivon, whose government plans to table a bill on the issue of "dying with dignity."

Report co-author Jean-Pierre Menard told a news conference Tuesday that Quebec adults of sound mind should have the right to seek a doctor's help to die if they have a terminal illness.

"Medically-aided death is part of the continuum of care," he said, adding that doctors who take part in the act should not be criminally charged.