A little over a year after the passage of Bill C-7, which expanded access to Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) in Canada to people whose natural deaths are not “reasonably foreseeable,” we are seeing the dangerous effects of this legislation for disabled people. As more data becomes available about who is using MAiD and how it is being administered, we can see patterns emerging. Maria Cheng recently wrote an article for the AP on this topic, and we created a thread on Twitter of some of its most essential quotes and points. The article is definitely worth the read in its entirety, but we hope this summary will give you some key takeaways.
The throughline in this article is the story of Alan Nichols, a 61-yr-old stroke survivor with hearing loss and a history of depression, but no other life threatening medical issues. Alan was euthanized in July 2019. 2/
Human rights and disability advocates warn that Canada’s euthanasia policy will result in more unecessary deaths like Alan’s when it is offered as a replacement for adequate medical care. 3/
‘Euthanasia “cannot be a default for Canada’s failure to fulfill its human rights obligations,” said Marie-Claude Landry, the head of its Human Rights Commission.’ Euthanasia is being used as a way to avoid caring for disabled patients. 4/
Even among other countries with legal euthanasia, Canada’s policies stand out as reckless. Unlike in Belgium or the Netherlands, there is little oversight and no requirement to have exhausted other treatment options, among other differences. 5/
The article also points out that there is almost no recourse families/surrogates can take to hold doctors accountable because the “law does not allow for families to review euthanasia requests or be privy to hospitals’ decisions”. 6/
Overall, this article is a very helpful resource for understanding the impacts and trajectory of Canada’s euthanasia laws. As access to euthanasia expands, more Canadians will be at serious risk of unnecessary death. 7/
Want to learn more about similar issues happening in the US and why many disabled community members oppose assisted suicide and euthanasia? Check this quick piece on our website: https://notdeadyet.org/assisted-suicide-talking-points 8/
Here are some more important quotes from the article– read on! 9/
“[G]rave concern” [was] voiced last year by three U.N. human rights experts, who wrote that Canada’s euthanasia law appeared to violate the agency’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They said the law had a “discriminatory impact” on disabled people
The association of Canadian health professionals who provide euthanasia tells physicians and nurses to inform patients if they might qualify to be killed, as one of their possible “clinical care options.”
Heidi Janz, an assistant adjunct professor in Disability Ethics at the University of Alberta, said “a person with disabilities in Canada has to jump through so many hoops to get support that it can often be enough to tip the scales” and lead them to euthanasia.
Catherine Frazee, a professor emerita at Toronto’s Ryerson University, said …“It’s difficult to quantify it, because there is no easy way to track these cases, but I and other advocates are hearing regularly from disabled people every week who are considering (euthanasia).”
Next year, the country is set to allow people to be killed exclusively for mental health reasons. It is also considering extending euthanasia to “mature” minors — children under 18 who meet the same requirements as adults.
