Euthanasia in Canada |Part of a series on| |Euthanasia| |Ty…

Euthanasia in Canada
|Part of a series on|
|Euthanasia|
|Types|
|Views|
|Groups|
|People|
|Books|
|Jurisdictions|
|Laws|
|Alternatives|
|Other issues|
|Part of a series on|
|Healthcare in Canada|
|Canada portal|
Euthanasia in Canada in its legal voluntary form is called Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD, also spelled MAID) and it first became legal along with assisted suicide in June 2016 for those whose death was reasonably foreseeable. Before this time, it was illegal as a form of culpable homicide. In March 2021, the law was further amended by Bill C-7 which to include those suffering from a grievous and irremediable condition whose death was not reasonably foreseeable. The planned inclusion of people with mental illnesses is controversial and has been repeatedly delayed. The legality of this postponement to 2027 is being challenged in court.
The intensity and breadth of Canada's MAID program has led to condemnation of its program by UN human rights experts and disability rights groups in Canada.[1] It has also been the subject of substantial international attention and criticism.[2][3][4] Human rights advocates have criticized Canada's euthanasia laws for lacking safeguards, devaluing the lives of disabled people, prompting health workers and doctors to suggest euthanasia to people who would not otherwise consider it, and killing people who were not receiving adequate government support to continue living.[1] According to the Fourth Annual Report on MAID, there were 13,241 MAID deaths reported in Canada in 2022.[5] The underlying medical conditions from MAID applications include cancer (63%), cardiovascular (18.8%), other at 14.9% (can be frailty, diabetes, chronic pain, autoimmune), respiratory (13.2%), and neurological conditions (12.6%). Seventy-seven percent of MAID recipients received palliative care and of the MAID recipients who did not receive palliative care 87.5% had access, a level similar to the three previous years.
Background[edit]
Euthanasia was previously prohibited under the Criminal Code as a form of culpable homicide.[6][7] The prohibition was overturned in a February 2015 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), which ruled that the Criminal Code provisions that make it a crime to help a person end their life violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that eligible adults with grievous and irremediable medical conditions are entitled to an assisted death. The Court delayed its suspension of invalidity for a period of 12 months, to allow Parliament the opportunity to amend its laws if it so chose.[8] In January 2016, the Court granted an additional four-month extension to the suspension to allow for further time. As an interim measure, it ruled that provincial courts can now begin approving applications for euthanasia pursuant to the criteria in the Carter decision. On 6 June 2016, the suspension of invalidity expired and the law was struck down. On 17 June 2016, a bill to legalize and regulate euthanasia passed in Canada's Parliament.[9] Canada's current law makes euthanasia available only to residents eligible for Canadian healthcare coverage.[10]
The previous law's requirement that a natural death must be reasonably foreseeable and that the medical condition be grievous and irremediable medical condition had been controversial for how it limited the original Supreme Court of Canada ruling, mandating that euthanasia be made available to all adults with grievous and irremediable medical conditions. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) challenged the constitutionality of the previous law because it excluded people with long-term disabilities and those with "curable" medical conditions whose only treatment options people may find unacceptable.[11] The BCCLA argued these medical conditions should qualify under the court's definition of grievous and irremediable.[12] The BC Supreme Court and the Quebec Supreme court in Truchon ruled in 2019 that the law could not limit euthanasia only to individuals whose death was reasonably foreseeable.[13]
The current law prohibits mental illnesses as being considered as a grievous and irremediable condition, but this prohibition was initially set to expire on 17 March 2024. On 2 February 2023, the Canadian government introduced legislation to extend the temporary exclusion of eligibility in circumstances where a person's sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness for a period of one-year, until 17 March 2024.[14] In 2024, this was further delayed until 2027.[15] After this date, persons with a severe refractory mental illness will be eligible for medical assistance in dying, subject to any further amendments to the law or any new regulations.[16]
Canada's euthanasia law includes some legal safeguards aimed at preventing abuse and ensuring informed consent. Neither the legal witness nor the physicians involved can have any legal or financial interest in the outcomes of…