Relief and dread as Canadian Physicians for Life await new bill on MAiD for the mentally ill

The director of a group of pro-life Canadian physicians says she has both relief and dread as she considers the possibilities of the mentally ill being euthanized in Canada.A recent report from the Parliamentary Committee responsible for examining euthanasia in Canada concluded that Canada is “not ready” for the expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) to those whose sole underlying condition is mental illness.In an email blast, Canadian Physicians for Life executive director Nicole Sheidl welcomed the news but was still left with many concerns."This is a relief. But there is also a sort of dread," wrote Scheidl."Canada is already leading the world in euthanasia deaths. And so, while it looks like those whose sole condition is a mental illness will be protected for now, we know that many, many Canadians are presently being euthanized because of disabilities, neurological conditions, cancer diagnoses, and even simply because of old age and frailty. Of course, these conditions are also frequently accompanied by mental health challenges."Scheidl said disability rights advocates had good cause for concern."By admitting that Canada is 'not ready' to euthanize certain people while euthanizing others, there is a clear judgment being made that some lives are less worthy of living and defending," she wrote."This is unacceptable. At CPL, we fight for all lives consistently."Scheidl pointed to certain comments by the committee that gave her cause for alarm.Dr. Tarek Rajji, chair of the Medical Advisory Committee of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) told the committee that while the federal model practice standards are a good first step, healthcare professionals also need access to clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), which currently do not exist regarding MAiD for those whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness. The acronym for this is MAiD MD-SUMC.Dr. Gaind critiqued the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers training program. He said the program is not evidence-based and includes misinformation and gaps."The CAMAP curriculum dangerously doesn't teach assessors how to distinguish suicidality from psychiatric MAiD requests, but convinces them that they can," Gaind wrote."Remarkably, the CAMAP suicide module neglects mentioning known risks to marginalized populations."Gaind pointed to scientific evidence to say suicidality caused by mental illness cannot be distinguished with motivations leading to psychiatric MAiD requests. He said both had overlapping characteristics.The committee listed ongoing concerns, including.Assessing irremediabilityDistinguishing MAiD requests from suicidalityLack of professional consensusProtecting the vulnerableCharter considerationsAvailability of trained practitionersScheidl said she was not surprised that Kutcher insisted that there was no reason to delay the expansion and that it should go ahead as planned.The Conservative members of the committee published a supplemental report contributing more evidence that bolsters the Committee’s concerns about the expansion. "The fundamental problems around accurately determining irremediability and suicidality in the context of MAiD MD-SUMC are as present today as they were a year ago. Until these issues are resolved, MAiD MD-SUMC cannot be safely implemented," the Conservative members wrote."There is no reason to believe that these fundamental problems will be resolved in the foreseeable future."Scheidl said she expected the next legislation introduced by the Liberals would pause the expansion for at least two years so that it will fall after the next federal election.Amanda Achtman, who does ethics education and cultural engagement for CPL, recently released a four-minute interview with Marg Rodrigues of Langley, British Columbia. Rodrigues has faced difficulties of late accessing pain relief medication and says doctors are “driving us toward MAiD.” The interview is below.

Relief and dread as Canadian Physicians for Life await new bill on MAiD for the mentally ill

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