A4A recently signed onto a public letter stating we do not support proposed changes to Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) legislation that would allow mental conditions as an acceptable reason for doctor-induced death.
The letter, which will be presented to Canada’s Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD), was initiated by Inclusion Canada and signed by countless disability organizations. The government committee will be debating the proposed change in its sessions.
Currently, Canada’s MAID program is not allowed when mental conditions (such as autism or mental illness) are the sole underlying medical condition. It is only allowed to be chosen by people with other medical conditions, such as cancer or Parkinson’s who may also have a mental condition.
Expanding MAID to include autism and mental illness violates ethics and devalues our lives. It promotes the idea that some people are expendable burdens and that the state should be tasked with killing them.
People who face family pressures can be pushed into the program, especially as they age.
Further, the idea that we are expendable translates into the broader medical community’s approach, leading to a level of dehumanization that compromises our care and threatens our physical safety in medical settings.
We would add that overall, the ethics of MAID in Canada are not being properly assessed by any measure. Like many Canadians we are urging a more stringent process–not an expansion. The way our government regulates MAID is a reflection on the values of our country about the purpose of Canadian health care itself.
To learn more about efforts around the ethics of MAID, please visit the Inclusion Ontario website, which will also be posting the letter, signed by disability organizations across Canada.
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