Critics caution against plan to expand medical assistance in dying to those with mental illness – CTV
Dec. 18, 2023
Hope is what kept Laurel Walker alive as thoughts of suicide overwhelmed her, and that is exactly what she says would be stripped from people battling the same darkness if Canada forges ahead with plans to expand medical assistance in dying to those with a mental disorder.
Proponents of the expansion, set for March 17, maintain that providing MAID to people with an incurable physical illness without giving the same right to those with an irremediable mental illness amounts to discrimination on the basis of a disability. Critics counter that there is insufficient evidence to predict whether or not someone will recover from a mental illness.
Recent comments out of Ottawa suggest expansion is not a certainty. Justice Minister Arif Virani said Wednesday that cabinet will consider the input of a joint parliamentary committee, medical experts and other stakeholders in deciding “whether we move ahead on March 17, or whether we pause.”
