Canada is on track to expand its medical assistance in dying (MAID) law in March to include those suffering from substance abuse disorder, according to VICE.
Canada’s MAID program came into effect in 2016 and was originally designed to allow those suffering from a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” to be administered drugs which assist in suicide. Under the current rules, the patient must be in an “advanced state of decline which cannot be reversed” to be administered the drugs.
Bill C-314, which was proposed in Canadian parliament by conservative MP Ed Fast, would have amended the criminal code to ensure mental illness could not be considered an eligible condition for MAID. The bill was defeated in the House of Commons Wednesday by a 167-150 vote, allowing the exclusion of mental illness eligibility to expire on March 17, 2024.
“It’s not fair to exclude people from eligibility purely because their mental disorder might either partly or in full be a substance use disorder. It has to do with treating people equally,” Dr. David Martell, physician lead for Addictions Medicine at Nova Scotia Health, told VICE. (Star Actress Dies By Assisted Suicide After Getting Illness She Claims Was Caused By COVID Booster Shot)
Canada Will Legalize Medically Assisted Dying For People Addicted to Drugs https://t.co/WXWP9YKnzV
— VICE (@VICE) October 19, 2023
The move to include those struggling with substance use has received plenty of scrutiny as activists feel other public health measures could better serve drug addicts as opposed to expanding MAID, according to VICE.
“I just think that MAID when it has entered the area around mental health and substance use is really rooted in eugenics, ” Toronto-based harm reduction advocate Zoë Dodd told VICE. “There are people who are really struggling around substance use and people do not actually get the kind of support and help they need.”
As the measure continues to move forward, each province will have the ability to develop their own assessment protocols for potential recipients of MAID, according to VICE.