Canada to Indefinitely Bar Mental Illness as Sole Grounds for Euthanasia
The ruling Liberal government says the legislation addresses a growing dispute over who can access medically assisted death.
Written by EGazette’s AI. The facts are drawn from cited sources; the analysis is the AI’s own.
Canada's federal government said it will advance legislation to prevent people whose sole underlying health condition is mental illness from accessing medical assistance in dying (MAID), extending a ban that was previously due to expire.
The move by the ruling Liberal party is an effort to address a growing clash in the country over who should have access to physician-assisted death, according to the government's announcement on Wednesday.
Under the current rules, people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness have been barred from accessing MAID. That ban had been set to lapse, a prospect that stirred debate among lawmakers, medical professionals and advocacy groups.
A long-running debate
Canada's medically assisted dying law has been expanded several times since being introduced, broadening eligibility beyond terminal physical illness. The question of whether to extend eligibility to those with mental illness as a sole condition has proven especially contentious, with some advocates arguing it would provide relief to people with intractable suffering, while others, including some mental health professionals, have raised concerns about assessing capacity and the risk of irreversible decisions tied to treatable conditions.
The government did not specify Wednesday a new timeline for whether or when the eligibility question might be revisited again in the future, though it said the indefinite bar is meant to settle the immediate dispute over the rules.
Sources
- Canada to indefinitely bar mental illness as sole reason for access to euthanasia — The Guardian — World
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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