Canada _ (Commonwealth Union) _ A parliamentary committee has made 23 recommendations to enhance Canada’s euthanasia program. The committee convened 36 times, heard from over 150 witnesses, and reviewed over 350 briefs on the medically assisted suicide program. It suggests that the Liberal administration extend access to palliative care and give financial help to those with disabilities.
In the absence of adequate financial and social supports, “persons with disabilities may consider (medical aid in dying) as a strategy to reduce suffering due to poverty and a lack of services,” according to the study. It states that the federal government should form an expert group to “research and report on the requirements of individuals with disabilities” in relation to medically assisted suicide.
The research suggests creating a framework to standardize program access across Canada. It also recommends that Health Canada conduct an assessment of “promising treatments, such as psilocybin, for both research purposes and individual usage as part of palliative care services.” It supports a proposed delay in expanding eligibility for medical help in dying to Canadians whose sole ailment is a mental illness.
Members of Parliament are anticipated to adopt a government measure this session to postpone the expansion until March 2024. The recommendations also include money to study minors’ perspectives and experiences with assisted suicide.
Another proposal is that Canada “amend the eligibility requirements for MAID laid forth in the Criminal Code to include children considered to have the required decision-making ability following evaluation.”
Parliamentarians further suggest that the federal government form an impartial expert group to study Criminal Code provisions permitting assisted dying for “adult minors,” but limit access to those “whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.” The Conservatives dissent in the report, claiming they cannot support every suggestion, especially those concerning adult minors.
