In the coming months, a special parliamentary committee will review the measure before it is implemented, following differences of opinion between the Canadian political parties. More than 10,000 Canadians were euthanized in 2021, ten times more than in 2016, the year it was legalized. Some were people in poverty who wanted to die.
The procedure for requesting an assisted death (MAID) begins by downloading an online form. The applicant answers a series of questions and then, along with witnesses, signs the form. A doctor then calls and comes to the applicant’s home. If the request is approved by two different doctors, the person must wait 90 days and then a doctor can administer the lethal drug by injection.
Currently, people suffering solely from mental illnesses, such as depression and personality disorders, are not eligible for assisted suicide.
A framework for assessing people with substance use disorders for MAID is being discussed at a scientific conference this week. The workshop program plans to teach participants and health professionals to “differentiate between suicide and a reasoned wish to die.”
Dr. David Martell, chief medical officer of addiction medicine at Nova Scotia Health, who is presenting the framework at the conference, told VICE News: “I don’t think it’s fair, and neither does the government, to exclude people from eligibility because their state of health or suffering is linked to mental illness.”
“It is not fair to exclude people from eligibility because their mental disorder may be, in part or in whole, a substance abuse disorder. It’s about treating people the same.”
A person who wishes to die rationally “thinks in a calm and measured way about ending his or her suffering and is able to reason about it.” He adds that people can show signs of opposite tendencies, making assessment difficult. And it would be “completely impossible” to distinguish if the person was under the influence of drugs.
Currently, people can benefit from medical assistance in dying (MAID) if they suffer from a “serious and incurable condition,” such as a severe illness or disability, which has plunged them into an irreversible decline. To obtain authorization, individuals must undergo two evaluations by independent health care providers.
Health Canada told the Daily Mail: “MAID can only be administered when two doctors believe the patient is eligible for the procedure. To be eligible, a person must: be suffering from a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability; be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in one’s abilities; and experience enduring and unbearable suffering. These three criteria must be met for a person to be considered eligible.”
Zoë Dodd, a pro-life activist from Toronto, told VICE News that the practice amounts to eugenics. “I think MAID, when it comes to the area of mental health and addiction, really has its roots in eugenics. And there are people who are really struggling with addiction who aren’t getting the support and help that they need.”
Drug groups told VICE News they believe greater access to overdose prevention sites and medications such as methadone are the right solution rather than offering suicide. They would also be helped by a regulated supply of medicines, more housing, and job opportunities.
The term eugenics – which rather designates a method for selecting unborn children – is used here like it was used by the Third Reich, which advocated the elimination of defective subjects, according to its vision. In this sense, there is indeed monstrous eugenics program on the horizon here: getting rid of drug addicts and the sick rather than treating them.
According to the Daily Mail, a change to Canada’s legislation on medical assistance in dying, MAID, is planned for March 2024. It envisions that patients suffering from mental health problems, including drug addiction, will be able to request assisted suicide.