Autistic woman in Canada again approved for ‘assisted dying’ as family fights for her life

The court battle for a young autistic woman in Canada continues, as she has again been approved for “medical aid in dying” a month after a Canadian judge halted her death. Her father, identified only as W.V., said his daughter, M.V. was approved by two doctors for Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) due to her autism, despite being in good physical health. W.V. intervened, and launched a court battle to save his daughter’s life.

Originally, M.V.’s death was scheduled for February 1, until her father began fighting to save her. Justice Colin Feasby originally ruled against him, saying that she should be allowed to die. “M.V.’s dignity and right to self-determination outweighs the important matters raised by W.V. and the harm that he will suffer in losing M.V.,” Feasby wrote in his ruling. “Though I find that W.V. has raised serious issues, I conclude that M.V.’s autonomy and dignity interests outweigh competing considerations.”

One month later, that ruling was overturned by another judge, who temporarily halted M.V.’s MAiD. Justice Anne Kirker issued an injunction against M.V.’s death until the appeal is heard, which is expected to be in October. Yet Unherd has reported that M.V. found another physician willing to approve her death.

Canada requires two physicians to approve a MAiD request, and M.V.’s first attempt, in 2021, failed to find two doctors willing to sign her application. She tried again in 2023, and again, the two doctors disagreed, with one approving her request and the other refusing. A MAiD navigator placed M.V. in touch with a third doctor, who agreed to sign her application, and when her father disagreed, he was labeled a “safety risk given his threats.”

“I thought MAiD was for, like, you’re dying anyway. So, we’ll just speed it up because you’re suffering. That’s what I thought it was for”, he told Unherd. “And I’m thinking, well, how could this be for Marge?”

READ: ‘Faces of MAID’ social media campaign opposes Canada’s euthanasia program

So W.V. filed an emergency court challenge, the day before her appointment to die was scheduled, which launched the ongoing court battles. Disability groups have been fighting by his side, arguing that disability is not a terminal illness.

“It is not just wrong”, Krista Carr, the executive vice president of Inclusion Canada, said in an e-mail. “It is discriminatory and violates our most fundamental rights.”

Canadians with disabilities have been fighting back against the increase in MAiD, calling attention to how easily people are approved for it — with some even struggling to actually get treatment that would allow them to live. Catalina Devandas Aguilar, a lawyer from Costa Rica and the United Nation’s first Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, also issued a report which found that people with disabilities are being pressured into euthanasia and forced into nursing homes, while the court system refuses to reinforce their rights.

Now, W.V. is waiting to see what will happen with this latest application having been approved. So far, he has spent over $150,000 in legal fees trying to save his daughter’s life. “This is just money. We can make it,” he said. “We can’t go to the store and buy another Marge. I don’t regret it at all.”