Vancouver palliative care doctor tells court she resigned rather than authorize MAID transfers – CBC
Process resulted in patients experiencing unnecessary suffering, physician testifies
Jan 20, 2026
A Vancouver palliative care doctor who says she chose to resign rather than authorize patient transfers for the purpose of medical assistance in dying (MAID) took the stand in B.C. Supreme Court this week.
Dr. Jyothi Jayaraman is one of three plaintiffs in the case, which challenges the constitutionality of publicly funded, faith-based health-care facilities prohibiting the procedure in their buildings.
The others are Gaye O’Neill, the mother of a woman who died after having to transfer out of St. Paul’s Hospital, located in downtown Vancouver, to receive MAID in 2023, and Dying With Dignity Canada.
In her affidavit, Jayaraman says she resigned from her role providing palliative care in two Vancouver hospices in early 2023 because the operation of one was being handed over to Providence Health Care.
