Toronto Canada (Commonwealth Union)_Canada is to expand the criteria for medically assisted death in March 2024, building on the legislation it passed in 2016 for legally assisted death for people with terminal illnesses. This was further expanded in 2021 to include persons with incurable, but not terminal conditions. This new provision will make Canada one of the world’s most expansive countries to institute MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying).
Assisted death remains controversial in most countries around the world, primarily due to the loopholes in the framework which could include those who prefer the option of assisted death due to not having access to adequate care or funding for medication. It also puts terminally ill people with probably a history of mental illness at risk of being killed without full and fair consent.
However, Canada has dismissed the criticism stating that it has the appropriate and prudent steps in place after slow study and careful evolution. In 2021, 10,064 people died through MAID, which is about 3.3 percent of deaths in Canada. In Netherlands and Belgium, where assisted death has been legal since 2002, 4.5 percent and 2.4 percent respectively have been via assisted death.
However, there are always those who circumvent the rules. It was found that 15 assisted deaths, about 0.4 percent of the total in Quebec did not follow the rules, which was blamed on Quebec’s self-governing medical body and medical facilities. 6 of the cases did not have a serious or incurable condition that warranted MAID. In British Columbia, 19 assisted death cases came up for scrutiny, although none of the findings resulted in disciplinary action against the medical personnel involved.
Since 2016, Canada has had more than 30,000 MAIDs with more than 10,000 in 2021. While the upsurge was seen after the change in legislation, about 98% of the cases in 2021 however, were those deemed near natural death.
The application for MAID is available for those covered by Canada’s healthcare program and must come via a written application and two independent assessments from medical practitioners of whom at least one should be specialized in the condition. Most often, the procedure involves an injection administered at home.
