Latest news with #MAID
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Flyer does not prove assisted death legal for minors in Canada
"Looks like the Canadian gov't reccomends (sic) offering MAiD to our children," says the caption of a May 20, 2025 video shared on Facebook. "Unbelievable! They have to be stopped!" The clip, viewed more than 35,000 times, includes images of what appears to be a brochure discussing a recommendation from Canadian lawmakers to expand assisted dying to mature minors. Similar claims citing the pamphlet as alleged proof of changes to MAID spread in online articles and on X, TikTok and Instagram. The posts gained traction as bills allowing assisted death are currently under debate in France and the United Kingdom. Canada first legalized MAID, intended for people with a "grievous and irremediable" medical condition, in 2016 (archived here). Different forms of euthanasia are also legal in other jurisdictions outside Canada. Initially, a person's natural death had to be "reasonably foreseeable" to be granted the procedure, but updates in 2021 opened eligibility to people whose deaths were not immediately imminent (archived here). False and misleading claims about MAID in Canada frequently surface online, often in posts alleging the program is being opened up to children. In 2023, a parliamentary committee did recommend that mature minors should be given the right to choose MAID. But as of June 3, 2025, people under 18 years old have never been eligible for the procedure in Canada. "The eligibility criteria set out in the Criminal Code require that a person must be a minimum of 18 years of age and capable of making decisions with respect to their health," said Mark Johnson, spokesman for Health Canada. "The Government of Canada is not considering any legislative changes to this requirement that minors cannot be assessed for nor receive MAID." Additionally, a reverse image search reveals that the pamphlet highlighted online was printed by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in 2024, as part of a push to discourage the expansion of access to the procedure (archived here). It did not come from the Canadian government, as the posts imply. A Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying studied issues related to MAID between 2021 and 2023 (archived here). During this time, individuals, experts and advocacy groups presented their points of view on what could be changed in Canada's approach to assisted death. Following the testimonies, the committee recommended that mature minors should be eligible to access MAID with safeguards in place, including restrictions limiting requests for people under 18 years old to only those whose deaths were reasonably foreseeable (archived here). The government responded to the recommendation with concerns about balancing minors' personal autonomy with safety, and it did not include any provision allowing medically assisted death for people under 18 (archived here). "This could only happen if legislation was introduced and passed to change the Criminal Code," said Alisha Hall, spokeswoman for Dying With Dignity Canada, a group that advocates for mature minors to be allowed the right to choose MAID. Hall told AFP that since Dying With Dignity's report to the committee in 2022, it had not made any further presentations to government bodies on MAID and mature minors (archived here). While some of the posts referencing the pamphlet also implied that MAID could be used by those dissatisfied with life, Canada requires an applicant to have a "grievous and irremediable" medical condition. According to the Justice Canada website, MAID applications need to be approved by at least two medical professionals, and information must be provided about how to withdraw a request (archived here). The ministry also says people applying for the procedure who do not have reasonably foreseeable deaths must be informed about alternative options of treatment. The latest annual report on MAID recorded that 95.9 percent of people who received the procedure in 2023 did so while their deaths were reasonably foreseeable, with cancer being the most frequently cited underlying condition (archived here). Those whose deaths were not foreseeable reported living with issues such as diabetes, frailty, autoimmune problems and chronic pain, according to the report. Some argue the availability of the procedure can leave other issues unaddressed, including those surrounding quality of life for people living with disability or in poverty. Media have previously reported on applicants seeking medically assisted death for social reasons including isolation, and practitioners struggling with requests for MAID from people living with disabilities or difficult economic situations. Offering MAID as an option for people suffering solely from a mental illness was slated to go into effect in 2024, but this change was postponed until at least March 2027 (archived here). Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
AFP
3 days ago
- General
- AFP
Flyer does not prove assisted death legal for minors in Canada
"Looks like the Canadian gov't reccomends (sic) offering MAiD to our children," says the caption of a May 20, 2025 video shared on Facebook. "Unbelievable! They have to be stopped!" The clip, viewed more than 35,000 times, includes images of what appears to be a brochure discussing a recommendation from Canadian lawmakers to expand assisted dying to mature minors. Similar claims citing the pamphlet as alleged proof of changes to MAID spread in online articles and on X, TikTok and Instagram. Image Screenshot of a Facebook post taken June 3, 2025 Image Screenshot of an Instagram post taken June 3, 2025 The posts gained traction as bills allowing assisted death are currently under debate in France and the United Kingdom. Canada first legalized MAID, intended for people with a "grievous and irremediable" medical condition, in 2016 (archived here). Different forms of euthanasia are also legal in other jurisdictions outside Canada. Initially, a person's natural death had to be "reasonably foreseeable" to be granted the procedure, but updates in 2021 opened eligibility to people whose deaths were not immediately imminent (archived here). False and misleading claims about MAID in Canada frequently surface online, often the program is being opened up to children. In 2023, a parliamentary committee did recommend that mature minors should be given the right to choose MAID. But as of June 3, 2025, people under 18 years old have never been eligible for the procedure in Canada. "The eligibility criteria set out in the Criminal Code require that a person must be a minimum of 18 years of age and capable of making decisions with respect to their health," said Mark Johnson, spokesman for Health Canada. "The Government of Canada is not considering any legislative changes to this requirement that minors cannot be assessed for nor receive MAID." Additionally, a reverse image search reveals that the pamphlet highlighted online was printed by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada in 2024, as part of a push to discourage the expansion of access to the procedure (archived here). It did not come from the Canadian government, as the posts imply. Studies and recommendations A Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying studied issues related to MAID between 2021 and 2023 (archived here). During this time, individuals, experts and advocacy groups presented their points of view on what could be changed in Canada's approach to assisted death. Following the testimonies, the committee recommended that mature minors should be eligible to access MAID with safeguards in place, including restrictions limiting requests for people under 18 years old to only those whose deaths were reasonably foreseeable (archived here). The government responded to the recommendation with concerns about balancing minors' personal autonomy with safety, and it did not include any provision allowing medically assisted death for people under 18 (archived here). "This could only happen if legislation was introduced and passed to change the Criminal Code," said Alisha Hall, spokeswoman for Dying With Dignity Canada, a group that advocates for mature minors to be allowed the right to choose MAID. Hall told AFP that since Dying With Dignity's report to the committee in 2022, it had not made any further presentations to government bodies on MAID and mature minors (archived here). Eligibility While some of the posts referencing the pamphlet also implied that MAID could be used by those dissatisfied with life, Canada requires an applicant to have a "grievous and irremediable" medical condition. According to the Justice Canada website, MAID applications need to be approved by at least two medical professionals, and information must be provided about how to withdraw a request (archived here). The ministry also says people applying for the procedure who do not have reasonably foreseeable deaths must be informed about alternative options of treatment. The latest annual report on MAID recorded that 95.9 percent of people who received the procedure in 2023 did so while their deaths were reasonably foreseeable, with cancer being the most frequently cited underlying condition (archived here). Those whose deaths were not foreseeable reported living with issues such as diabetes, frailty, autoimmune problems and chronic pain, according to the report. Some argue the availability of the procedure can leave other issues unaddressed, including those surrounding quality of life for people living with disability or in poverty. Media have previously reported on applicants seeking medically assisted death for social reasons including isolation, and practitioners struggling with requests for MAID from people living with disabilities or difficult economic situations. Offering MAID as an option for people suffering solely from a mental illness was slated to go into effect in 2024, but this change was postponed until at least March 2027 (archived here). Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
My mother died of assisted suicide and now I'm doing the same for a heartbreaking reason
A retired Canadian pilot battling terminal cancer is preparing to die this summer in the same way his mother did - more than a decade after her final act helped inspire the country's controversial assisted dying laws. Price Carter, 68, from Kelowna, British Columbia, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last spring. The disease is incurable, but rather than fearing his impending death, Carter is calmly preparing for it - determined to go out on his own terms with the help of Canada 's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program. 'I'm okay with this. I'm not sad,' he told the The Canadian Press this week in a candid interview. 'I'm not clawing for an extra few days on the planet. I'm just here to enjoy myself. 'When it's done, it's done.' Carter is set to tread a path blazed by his mom, Kay Carter, who in 2010 secretly flew to Switzerland to end her life at the Dignitas facility, an assisted-dying organization, aged 89, following an excruciating years-long battle with spinal stenosis. At the time, assisted dying was illegal in Canada, but Kay's story sparked a national conversation. Five years later, in 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that, in certain circumstances, competent adults suffering from intolerable illnesses or ailments have the constitutional right to seek medical assistance in dying (MAID). The ruling became known as the Carter decision. The federal government followed the ruling with legislation in 2016, and later expanded eligibility following a court challenge in March 2021. Now, Price Carter is preparing to utilize the very law his mother's death helped birth. 'I was told at the outset, 'This is palliative care, there is no cure for this.' So that made it easy,' he told the National Post of his decision. 'I'm at peace,' he added. 'It won't be long now.' Unlike his mother, Carter won't be required to travel thousands of miles to end his life. When the time comes, he plans to die in a hospice suite, surrounded by his wife, Danielle, and their three children, Grayson, Lane, and Jenna. Carter said he has chosen not to die at home because he doesn't want the space, which has been filled with so many happy memories over the years, to be transformed into a place of grief. He plans to spend his final hours playing board games with his wife and children. Then, after taking three different medications, his life will be over. 'Five people walk in, four people walk out, and that's okay,' he told The Globe and Mail, envisioning his death. 'One of the things that I got from my mom's death was it was so peaceful.' Price Carter, along with his two sisters and brother-in-law, accompanied Kay Carter on her surreptitious trip to Switzerland in 2010 to be with her for her final hours. Before her death, Kay penned a letter explaining her decision to end her life, and her family helped draft a list of 150 people to send it to after the procedure was completed. She was unable to alert them of her intentions ahead of time because of the risk that Canadian authorities would attempt to stop her from traveling to Switzerland or prosecute any family members who assisted her. Price said he remembers his mom's death vividly. After filling out the necessary paperwork, she settled into a bed and ate chocolates before a physician gave her a lethal dose of barbiturates to make her heart stop. What stood out to Price Carter was how at peace his mother seemed, following years of being robbed of mobility and crippled by excruciating pain brought on by her spinal condition. 'When she died, she just gently folded back,' he recounted. Reflecting on that moment reduced him to tears. However, he insisted he wasn't crying out of sadness - instead, he was moved by how serene and graceful the process was. 'When it was with my mom, it was one of the greatest learning experiences ever to experience a death in such a positive way,' he told the Globe. 'If I can give that to my children, I will have been successful.' Carter said he is at peace with the road ahead. He isn't interested in pity or condolences. He had spent much of the last few months swimming and rowing. But as the symptoms of his deadly affliction take hold, his energy is beginning to fade, and now he passes the time he has left gardening or fixing his pool. Carter recently completed one medical assessment for MAID and expects to undergo a second this week. If his application is approved, he could be dead by the end of the summer. 'People don't want to talk about death,' he said. 'But pretending it won't come doesn't stop it. We should be allowed to meet it on our own terms.' MAID has long been a contentious topic of debate in Canada, prompting discussion on whether the procedure should be legal and who should qualify. In 2021, when the law was expanded, a controversial clause was included that would allow people suffering solely from a mental disorder to be considered eligible for assisted death. The proposed change prompted widespread panic among lawmakers and mental health professionals nationwide, and the amendment has now been delayed until March 2027. Last October, Quebec became the first province in Canada to allow advanced requests for MAID, allowing people with dementia or Alzheimer's to formally request assisted death ahead of time, before they are no longer capable of consenting. Carter is calling for the policy to be adopted nationwide. He believes limiting advanced MAID requests to only Quebec is leaving vulnerable people to waste away in fear elsewhere in the country. He said advanced requests afford individuals the comfort of knowing they aren't, as he bluntly put it, 'going to be drooling in a chair for years.' 'We're excluding a huge number of Canadians from a MAID option because they may have dementia and they won't be able to make that decision in three or four or two years. How frightening, how anxiety-inducing that would be,' he said. Dying with Dignity Canada, a national charity that advocates for access to MAID, is echoing Carter's call. Helen Long, who heads the organization, but declined to be interviewed for this story, pointed to polling figures that reportedly show the majority of Canadians support advanced requests for MAID. Statistics show that assisted dying is becoming more common in Canada, according to the National Post. In 2023, the latest year for which national statistics are available, 19,660 people applied for the procedure, and just over 15,300 were approved. More than 95 percent of those were individuals whose deaths were considered reasonably foreseeable, the outlet reported.
New York Times
5 days ago
- General
- New York Times
A Merciful Death
I grew up in the '80s and '90s and remember being fascinated by the controversy around Jack Kevorkian. He was a Michigan doctor who argued that sick people should be allowed to die on their own terms rather than suffer through a grueling illness. Was he a traitor to his oath to 'do no harm'? Or was he an angel of mercy, letting victims of disease exercise one last bit of agency over their failing bodies? Kevorkian, who went to prison for helping dozens of people with 'physician-assisted suicides,' seemed so radical at the time. Now his ideas are commonplace. Ten states and lots of Western nations have assisted-dying laws. But they're mostly built for people with a life-ending diagnosis. Canada is trying something more. There, a patient can have a state-sanctioned death if she is suffering — but not necessarily dying — from an illness. For the cover story of yesterday's New York Times Magazine, Katie Engelhart followed one woman's journey to die. It's a nuanced portrait of a person racked with pain and a tour of some controversial bioethics. I spoke with Katie about the difficulty in knowing what's right and what's wrong when people suffer. Your story has so much intimate detail about the struggles of the main character, Paula Ritchie. How did you get her to confide in you? Paula was, in her own words, 'an open book.' The first time I called her, we talked for nearly three hours. She had applied for medical assistance in dying, or MAID, after suffering a concussion, which led to dizziness and insomnia and pain that never went away. I knew that Paula would be an interesting case study, in large part because of the complexity — the messiness, really — of her life. She was the kind of patient whom opponents of MAID worry about. Paula had a mix of physical and psychiatric conditions: chronic pain, chronic fatigue, bipolar disorder, depression. She had a history of childhood trauma. She lived below the poverty line. She was very lonely. You watched Paula die. I was moved, reading about her last moments. What was it like to see that? I was trying to be as small a presence as possible in the room. I sat in a folding chair at the foot of her bed. As a reporter, the experience was doubly intense: I was there to do a job — to gather information — but I was also experiencing the moment as a human being, sitting in a room full of suffering. I said very little to Paula and she said very little to me, although she did briefly reach for my hand as she was getting ready for her injections. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
6 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Five Things to Know About Assisted Dying in Canada
In 2023, one out of 20 Canadians who died received a physician-assisted death, making Canada the No. 1 provider of medical assistance in dying (MAID) in the world, when measured in total figures. In one province, Quebec, there were more MAID deaths per capita than anywhere else. Canadians, by and large, have been supportive of this trend. A 2022 poll showed that a stunning 86 percent of Canadians supported MAID's legalization. But in some corners, MAID has been the subject of a growing unease. While MAID in Canada was initially restricted to patients with terminal conditions — people whose natural deaths were 'reasonably foreseeable' — the law was controversially amended in 2021 to include people who were suffering but who weren't actually dying: patients who might have many years or even decades of life ahead of them. This new category includes people with chronic pain and physical disabilities. For The New York Times Magazine, I interviewed dozens of clinicians, ethicists, lawyers, advocates and patients about how MAID in Canada works. Here is what I learned: The criteria for MAID in Canada is among the broadest in the world When Canada's first MAID law, Bill C-14, passed in 2016, it had strict eligibility criteria: Patients needed to be over 18, eligible for Canadian health care and mentally competent to consent to death. They needed to have a 'serious and incurable illness, disease or disability'; be in an 'advanced state of irreversible decline in capability'; and have 'enduring physical or psychological suffering' that was 'intolerable.' Their natural deaths also had to be 'reasonably foreseeable.' In other words, they had to be dying. Early MAID patients were often people in their 70s or 80s with terminal cancer. In 2021, the Canadian government passed Bill C-7, which removed the criteria that a patient's death be 'reasonably foreseeable.' Now Canadians who are chronically sick or disabled — with conditions ranging from quadriplegia to multiple sclerosis to blindness to early-stage Parkinson's to chronic back pain — can receive assisted deaths from doctors or nurse practitioners. Within Canada, this newer kind of MAID is known as Track 2. Track 2 is controversial, even among MAID supporters Some clinicians who are involved with MAID objected to the legal expansion. They argue that it isn't really 'assistance in dying' if the patient isn't dying. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
