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Canada holds off on MAiD expansion for mental illness, targets people with dementia
Members of the Canadian Parliament voted Wednesday against a bill that would have prevented the expansion of the country's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program to allow assisted dying for mental illness alone. Just hours prior to this, Canada's government announced that it would not continue to pursue the expansion.
Canadian MPs voted down bill C-218, which would have prohibited the expansion of MAiD for individuals with mental illness as their only health concern.
Just hours earlier, Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced that the government had decided not to move forward with its plan to expand MAiD to include people whose sole health condition is mental illness.
Fraser also said legislation would be put forward in the coming weeks to indefinitely extend the ban on MAiD for people whose sole health condition is mental illness.
MPs also voted to decriminalize the use of advance directives to allow MAiD to be carried out on individuals with conditions such as dementia.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Marjorie Michel hosted a mid-day press conference, where Fraser stated:
“Canada has made a decision not to move forward with the expansion that is scheduled in the Criminal Code of medical assistance in dying in circumstances where mental illness is the sole basis.
This decision reflects the conclusion and recommendations of the recent special committee that was established as between the House of Commons and the Senate, who recommended that we move forward in this direction."
In 2021, Canada expanded MAiD to remove the requirement that the person's death be "reasonably foreseeable." A UN special rapporteur condemned this decision, and in June, a House-Senate committee called for amendments to the Criminal Code to "indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying.”
Fraser explained:
“Having reviewed the report, considered the recommendations, dug in deep to understand the reasons behind those recommendations, and had my own department conduct its engagement to assure that I was comfortable with the final report, I believe that the recommendations are legitimate and I agree with them at the end of the day."
Fraser also said that this Fall, the federal government will introduce legislation to indefinitely extend the ban on MAiD for people whose sole health condition is mental illness.
However, later in the day on Wednesday, MPs voted against Bill C-218, which would have prohibited the expansion of MAiD to Canadians based on mental illness alone, in a 187-141 vote. This allows the door to remain open to the future expansion of MAiD for mental health reasons.
Despite these drastically different moves on Wednesday, MPs did manage to find a way to expand euthanasia.
Canada will now allow people to use advance directives to request that MAiD be used to kill them, even if they are no longer mentally capable of making that decision. Currently, a person must be mentally capable of consenting to MAiD both when their request is initially made and at the moment that the doctor injects them with the deadly drug cocktail.
Under an advance directive, a person can be approved for euthanasia that will be carried out in the future after they have lost their cognitive abilities to dementia, Alzheimer's, or similar conditions.
“The Liberal government is playing with lives,” said Jeff Gunnarson, National President of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC). “It voted down a bill that would protect the mentally ill while claiming it will introduce its own protections. And on the same day, it says that it plans to make euthanasia more available for those suffering with dementia. The Liberal government is still bent on expanding death—it just changed its target.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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·International·By Nancy Flanders
Canada holds off on MAiD expansion for mental illness, targets people with dementia
Members of the Canadian Parliament voted Wednesday against a bill that would have prevented the expansion of the country's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) program to allow assisted dying for mental illness alone. Just hours prior to this, Canada's government announced that it would not continue to pursue the expansion.
Canadian MPs voted down bill C-218, which would have prohibited the expansion of MAiD for individuals with mental illness as their only health concern.
Just hours earlier, Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced that the government had decided not to move forward with its plan to expand MAiD to include people whose sole health condition is mental illness.
Fraser also said legislation would be put forward in the coming weeks to indefinitely extend the ban on MAiD for people whose sole health condition is mental illness.
MPs also voted to decriminalize the use of advance directives to allow MAiD to be carried out on individuals with conditions such as dementia.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Health Minister Marjorie Michel hosted a mid-day press conference, where Fraser stated:
“Canada has made a decision not to move forward with the expansion that is scheduled in the Criminal Code of medical assistance in dying in circumstances where mental illness is the sole basis.
This decision reflects the conclusion and recommendations of the recent special committee that was established as between the House of Commons and the Senate, who recommended that we move forward in this direction."
In 2021, Canada expanded MAiD to remove the requirement that the person's death be "reasonably foreseeable." A UN special rapporteur condemned this decision, and in June, a House-Senate committee called for amendments to the Criminal Code to "indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying.”
Fraser explained:
“Having reviewed the report, considered the recommendations, dug in deep to understand the reasons behind those recommendations, and had my own department conduct its engagement to assure that I was comfortable with the final report, I believe that the recommendations are legitimate and I agree with them at the end of the day."
Fraser also said that this Fall, the federal government will introduce legislation to indefinitely extend the ban on MAiD for people whose sole health condition is mental illness.
However, later in the day on Wednesday, MPs voted against Bill C-218, which would have prohibited the expansion of MAiD to Canadians based on mental illness alone, in a 187-141 vote. This allows the door to remain open to the future expansion of MAiD for mental health reasons.
Despite these drastically different moves on Wednesday, MPs did manage to find a way to expand euthanasia.
Canada will now allow people to use advance directives to request that MAiD be used to kill them, even if they are no longer mentally capable of making that decision. Currently, a person must be mentally capable of consenting to MAiD both when their request is initially made and at the moment that the doctor injects them with the deadly drug cocktail.
Under an advance directive, a person can be approved for euthanasia that will be carried out in the future after they have lost their cognitive abilities to dementia, Alzheimer's, or similar conditions.
“The Liberal government is playing with lives,” said Jeff Gunnarson, National President of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC). “It voted down a bill that would protect the mentally ill while claiming it will introduce its own protections. And on the same day, it says that it plans to make euthanasia more available for those suffering with dementia. The Liberal government is still bent on expanding death—it just changed its target.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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Bridget Sielicki
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