Euthanasia in Canada

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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. An expansion to include people with mental illnesses is planned for 2027. This expansion was originally planned for 2023 and the legality of the delay 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.