Canada is expected to allow medically assisted death soon for the people already distressed with their medical conditions and evaluate death as a better alternative.
The new mental health provision will make Canada one of the most expansive countries in the world when it comes to medical assistance in dying (MAID), according to an expert panel report to Canada’s parliament
More than 30,000 people have died with medical assistance in Canada since 2016, more than 10,000 of them in 2021 when the law was expanded to people whose deaths were not “reasonably foreseeable.”
Even after the change in the legislation, about 98% of the assisted deaths in 2021 were people deemed near their natural death, according to Health Canada data.
The procedure is only available to people covered by a Canadian healthcare program. It requires a written application and assessments from two independent medical practitioners, including at least one specialized in their condition if the applicant is not near their natural death. The procedure frequently involves an injection administered at home.
Canadian federal government is considering recommendations from a parliamentary committee to allow advance requests and “mature minors” – people under 18 deemed capable of making this decision – to access assisted death. —AP
