Should Medical Assistance in Dying Extend to Include Mental Illness?
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Geoffrey Callaghan
Proposal
In June 2016, the Parliament of Canada enacted federal legislation, known as Bill C-14, that outlined the eligibility criteria for Canadian adults to receive medical assistance in dying (MAID). The most important condition highlighted by the legislation was that a “natural death†must be a “reasonably foreseeable†future event (Truchon c. Procureur Général du Canada, 2019). Two criteria, in particular, organized the broader intent of the legislation. First, a person’s death must be “reasonably foreseeable,†and second, the medical condition must be “grievous and irremediable.†While the first criterion appears to exclude individuals whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness, the latter does not explicitly exclude those with mental illness (Freeland et al., 2021, p. 72). Due to the challenging wording of Bill C-14, it has been explicitly stated that people with mental illness could not legally access medical assistance in dying (MAID). Bill C-7 was put into force and effect years later, which amended the powers of Bill C-14. As of 2020, Bill C-7 established “a separate set of procedural safeguards for individuals whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable,†however, this new legislation also excludes people with mental illness from accessing MAID (Nicol & Tiedemann, 2021). I will explore the thorny debate around whether MAID should extend to those with a mental illness, and ultimately show the legislative changes throughout the last few years and provide insight into potential future issues surrounding the extension of MAID to vulnerable people in Canada.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
Should Medical Assistance in Dying Extend to Include Mental Illness?
In June 2016, the Parliament of Canada enacted federal legislation, known as Bill C-14, that outlined the eligibility criteria for Canadian adults to receive medical assistance in dying (MAID). The most important condition highlighted by the legislation was that a “natural death†must be a “reasonably foreseeable†future event (Truchon c. Procureur Général du Canada, 2019). Two criteria, in particular, organized the broader intent of the legislation. First, a person’s death must be “reasonably foreseeable,†and second, the medical condition must be “grievous and irremediable.†While the first criterion appears to exclude individuals whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness, the latter does not explicitly exclude those with mental illness (Freeland et al., 2021, p. 72). Due to the challenging wording of Bill C-14, it has been explicitly stated that people with mental illness could not legally access medical assistance in dying (MAID). Bill C-7 was put into force and effect years later, which amended the powers of Bill C-14. As of 2020, Bill C-7 established “a separate set of procedural safeguards for individuals whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable,†however, this new legislation also excludes people with mental illness from accessing MAID (Nicol & Tiedemann, 2021). I will explore the thorny debate around whether MAID should extend to those with a mental illness, and ultimately show the legislative changes throughout the last few years and provide insight into potential future issues surrounding the extension of MAID to vulnerable people in Canada.