A bill to expand access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD) comes to a Senate vote no later than Feb 17. That leaves a bare working week for the House to consider what may be a number of Senate-approved amendments before a court-imposed deadline for final passage on Feb 26.
Bill C-7 is the Trudeau government’s response to the 2019 Quebec Superior Court Truchon ruling — named for Jean Truchon, one of its two disabled, but not dying, plaintiffs — which struck down the current euthanasia law’s “natural death is reasonably foreseeable” criterion as too narrow. It asserted the right to MAiD for any Canadian suffering what he or she considers irremediable mental or physical suffering. The government did not appeal the judgment, an indication of its willingness — in fact eagerness — to meet and, as evidenced in Bill C-7, go beyond Truchon’s request.
For example, C-7 eliminates the 10-day reflection period, and reduces the need for two witnesses to one (who may be part of the caretaking process). C-7 would therefore open the door to MAiD on demand for people struggling with chronic physical or mental disability — a total of about six million Canadians, according to government stats.
This feature is viewed as particularly catastrophic by many disabled Canadians, as well it should be. The obvious message to the disabled is that our society puts a higher value on “dying with dignity” than living with dignity, even with greatly diminished independence. Those disabled who require a great deal of costly care will be reminded far more overtly than they already are — and we know they are — that MAiD is available to them. As well, those who have just become disabled through calamitous injury will be encouraged to consider MAiD when they are most psychologically vulnerable to the temptation.
[Interesting Read]
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