As Britain continues to debate the legalisation of medically assisted suicide, The Atlantic has published an in depth look by writer Elaina Plott Calabro at how such policy has played out in Canada, which legalised the procedure in 2016.
In Canada the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) programme now accounts for around five per cent of deaths, claiming more lives than diabetes and Alzheimer’s combined.
Such is the demand for assisted suicide that healthcare providers are struggling to keep up with demand. The example of Canada seems to vindicate many of the concerns voiced by those campaigning to keep the procedure illegal in Britain.
Notably, the eligibility requirements have greatly expanded since 2016. Initially MAID was only for the terminally ill. It was later expanded to include those with serious but non life-threatening conditions.
In two years, the procedure will be available to those with mental illnesses and there have been proposals to allow minors to commit suicide under the programme.
One key figure in The Atlantic piece is cancer psychiatrist Madeline Li. She is described as one of the most influential doctors in the introduction of MAID but notes that the reality of the programme soon led her to have grave doubts.
Li told the story of a young man with “likely curable cancer” who was determined to undergo medically assisted suicide. He fulfilled the eligibility criteria and underwent the procedure.
As The Atlantic puts it: “He met the eligibility criteria as Li understood them. But the whole thing seemed wrong to her … [and] she regretted her decision almost as soon as the man’s heart stopped beating.”
Li herself told The Atlantic, “What I’ve learned since is: Eligible doesn’t mean you should provide MAID … You can be eligible because the law is so full of holes, but that doesn’t mean it clinically makes sense.”
Also of concern were cases where people opted for assisted suicide only to change their mind, suggesting that at least some of those who died by the procedure may well have chosen life given more time.
The article also confirms that those concerned that suicide will become easier and cheaper than proper medical or palliative care are valid.
Calabro writes, “Nearly half of all Canadians who have died by MAID viewed themselves as a burden on family and friends … it is difficult to understand MAID in such circumstances as a triumphant act of autonomy—as if the state, by facilitating death where it has failed to provide adequate resources to live, has somehow given its most vulnerable citizens the dignity of choice."
