Put the Brakes on Allowing Medical Assistance in Dying for Those With Mental Illness

 By Harvey Max Chochinov It’s time to put the brakes on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canada for those whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness. The federal government has tasked the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying to determine if Canada is ready to extend

Let’s remember what C-7 is really about

 by Helen Long CEO, Dying With Dignity Canada The ability to distinguish myth from fact around Bill C-7 and its scope has become complicated by an array of messages creating confusion, as well as the current medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation and practice. The federal government tabled Bill C-7

Wishes — failures — realities for the disabled

 OPINION — There is a heated debate going on here in Canada about medical assistance in dying (MAiD) because of the changes proposed in Bill C-7, a bill that currently sits with the Senate for review. Several articles have been published in OLM in the past few weeks on the

Persons with disabilities need accommodations and supports, not medically assisted death

 By Robin Acton As the mother of a young woman with an intellectual disability and the wife of someone with a significant physical disability, I know full well the value and meaning of their lives. Their lives, like my own, are defined by who they are, who they love, their

Stop telling people with disabilities they might be better off dead

 By Lisa Bendall Senators are currently deliberating the passage of Bill C-7, which would amend medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to allow assisted suicide for people who aren’t near death. Not all people, mind you; just people who happen to have disabilities. While many of us fear that this bill

Bill C-7 is a matter of life and death for persons with disabilities

 By Nicolas Rouleau   PHOTO: CAMPAIGN LIFE COALITION By cavalierly hurrying through Parliament and limiting debate on legislation to expand access to assisted suicide in Canada (Bill C-7), the Canadian government is fast-tracking the deaths of persons with disabilities. Up until now, medical assistance in dying (MAiD) has been limited to

Equality for persons with disabilities on the line in new assisted dying legislation

 By Catherine Frazee A consequential law is proceeding swiftly in Parliament, but mostly under the radar of Canadians with a lot on our minds these days. Bill C7 will amend our current medical assistance in dying (MAiD) law by creating a separate pathway to assisted death for persons who are

A good woman, a good doctor, six good friends, and MAiD

 ABOVE: Alma Norman passed away on November 6, 2020 By David B. Brooks MAiD is the short form of a medical procedure that has recently become legal under Canadian federal law: Medical Assistance in Dying.  It provides for situations in which people are in significant pain or are in some other situation

It will soon be easier and faster to get a medically assisted death than many disability supports

 By Trudo Lemmens and Leah Krakowitz-Broker To meet the twice-renewed deadline imposed by the Quebec Superior Court in the Truchon case, the federal government is pushing its new Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) bill through Parliament before year’s end.  They should go back to the drawing board and start again. Truchon ruled sections

Canada must learn lessons from Belgium on assisted dying legislation

 By Trudo Lemmens While we were debating in Canada the potential expansion to our Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) law, a criminal trial concluded in Belgium against three physicians involved in the death of Tine Nys. Diagnosed in 2010 at age 37 with Asperger’s, Nys received MAID under Belgium’s liberal

???????Death’s tug of war with mystery and science

 By Al Etmanski An obsession with ‘present mindedness’ wipes out concerns about past or future. ~ Harold Innis I count myself as lucky to have been born when death was still pretty much a mystery, more the prerogative of poets and other artists, philosophers and religious teachers than of scientists and