Misunderstanding of mental illness clouds MAID expansion, patient and psychiatrist say – CBC

Psychiatrists divided on extending MAID to those suffering solely from mental illnesses

Feb 01, 2024

Canadians suffering from debilitating mental illness cannot yet legally qualify for medical assistance in dying, unlike almost all others with severe illnesses — a restriction some advocates feel is rooted in misunderstanding.

Eligibility for MAID was set to expand in March to include people with mental illness.

But on Thursday, Health Minister Mark Holland introduced legislation that will delay the expansion of assisted dying to include those suffering solely from mental illness to 2027.

Holland accepted the majority recommendations of a parliamentary committee that warned Canada’s health system is not ready to allow MAID for people with only a mental illness because there’s too much work to do before the legislation was set to expand.

Graeme Bayliss wants the right, at some point, of a doctor-assisted death.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/maid-mental-illness-health-1.7101021