Assisted Suicide has increased for individuals whose natural deaths were not reasonably foreseeable, Health Canada Reports
In June 2016, Canada enacted Bill C-14 to “give Canadians who were suffering intolerably during the dying process, the choice to have a medically assisted death.” The law created what is colloquially known as the “MAID” program, or the “medical assistance in dying” program in Canada. On March 17, 2021, this law was amended so that “eligible persons who wish to pursue a medically assisted death, whether their natural death is reasonably foreseeable or not,” were included in the program.
Under this program, it was determined that Canadians whose only condition is a mental illness— which “includes conditions that are primarily within the domain of psychiatry, such as depression and personality disorders”— would be eligible for MAID in Canada by March 17, 2024.
“The number of cases of MAID in 2022 (13,241) represents a growth rate of 31.2% over 2021,” Health Canada’s Fourth Annual Report on MAID in Canada reports. “All provinces except Manitoba and the Yukon continue to experience a steady year-over-year growth in 2022.” The same report explains 3.5% of the total number of MAID provisions (463 individuals), were individuals whose natural deaths were not reasonably foreseeable. This is an increase from 2.2% in 2021 (223 individuals), representing a 48% increase over the year.
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