MAID growth steady as number of practitioners grows before expansion next year: report – CTV
Oct. 26, 2023
Medically assisted deaths jumped by 31 per cent in Canada last year as part of a continuing trend since the practice was legalized in 2016 for those with a serious and incurable illness or disability, a federal report says.
Health Canada says in the report that 13,241 people chose medical assistance in dying (MAID) in 2022, for a total of 44,958 deaths so far, and that the average annual growth rate has been 31 per cent from 2019 to 2022.
The fourth annual report comes before MAID is expected to expand next spring to include people with a mental disorder as the sole underlying condition, though some psychiatrists are calling for more addiction and mental health services.
The report says 63 per cent of people who received MAID last year had cancer and 19 per cent had heart conditions. All provinces except Manitoba and Yukon continued to experience a steady year-over-year growth in MAID.
