Article Type: World News

Headline: Canada wants to make mental illness a valid condition for euthanasia
Byline: Evelyn Padovani

If the condition of a mental illness is the only factor for someone considering medical
assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada this person will be considered disqualified. However,
the government announced that, starting in march 2023, the law would change and allow
people with chronic mental disorders to be eligible. By authorizing that, the country becomes
one of the few to have such a liberal law regarding euthanasia.

Other countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain already allow people
suffering from mental conditions to access the procedure. The issue generates many debates
because of the irremediable factor of mental illness. For many health professionals, it is an
assessment that is impossible to make. Many believe that people suffering from mental illness
can lead a quality life.

Federal Minister of Justice, David Lametti, assured that they want to proceed with caution,
without making mistakes. But the decision has been met with criticism from medical health
associations and psychiatrists. Unlike terminal cancer, for example, how can doctors
determine the irreversible nature of a mental illness? This is a question that is part of the
doubts about the changes in the law.

In an interview for BBC news, Dr Stefanie Green - president of the Canadian Association of
Maid Assessors and Providers - said that waiting for death in cases of terminal illness causes
intense suffering for patients. "Almost every single time I deem a patient eligible [for Maid],
that patient stops worrying about how they're going to die and starts wondering how they're
going to live.”

On the other hand, some reports suggest that Canadian citizens have opted for MAID due to
problems of social structures, such as housing inaccessibility. People who criticize the
extension of the law say that this step may contribute to people choosing death due to poverty
or loneliness problems. "Leaving people to make this choice [to die] because the state is
failing to fulfill their fundamental human rights is unacceptable," said Marie-Claud Landry,
chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission in a statement in May of
2022.

Since June 2016 assisted death to adults is legal in Canada, in march 2021 the government
made some changes in the law that includes details about eligibility, procedural safeguards
and the framework for the federal government’s data collection and reporting regime. The
revision of legislation was made to guarantee appropriate protections for people who want to
request the process.

According to the official page of Canada’s Government, the criterias to be eligible for MAID
are: be at least 18 years old and mentally competent, have a grievous and irremediable
medical condition, be eligible for health services funded by the federal government or a
province or territory, make a voluntary request for MAID that is not the result of outside
pressure or influence and give informed consent to receive MAID.

In the first year (2016), about 1,018 people chose to take MAID. In 2017, the number grew to
2,838 deaths. The increase continued in the following years in all provinces of the country.
The number of cases of MAID in 2021 represents a growth rate of 32.4% over 2020.
Considering all data, the total number of medically assisted deaths reported in Canada since
2016 is 31,664, according to the third annual report on Medical Assistance in Dying in
Canada 2021.