Latest news with #MAiD
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- General
- Ottawa Citizen
Pellerin: How to be a joyful Canadian — Diane Sims leads the way
Joy is a concept that's easy to call and hard to run, especially when bad things keep happening to you. But the woman one Ottawa newspaper once called 'the indefatigable Ms. Sims' is filled with so much of it that she shines bright enough to light up the sky and eclipse the Canada Day fireworks over LeBreton Flats. Article content Diane Sims is a writer, journalist and communicator who was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie. She has worked all over Ontario, including stints in Ottawa, Manitoulin Island and various points in between. She now lives in Stratford. Article content Article content Article content She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as a teenager. Later, she also had to face ovarian cancer. Plus, you know, the challenges of everyday life. A fierce advocate for accessibility as well as medical assistance in dying (MAiD), she was awarded the Order of Canada last year. She was in Ottawa earlier this week for the ceremony and to launch the Order of Canada Edition of her 2024 memoir, Living Beyond the Shadow, at Perfect Books on Elgin Street. Article content I read her memoir from cover to cover and spent a delightful half-hour or so chatting by phone with this extraordinary woman before meeting her at the bookstore on Wednesday. The experience, just ahead of Canada Day and in the political context of 2025, made me think about what it means to be Canadian, beyond the clichés and lazy shortcuts, like the fact that we're nice and polite and maybe a little bit boring at times but good eggs, you know? Article content Article content Yes. But also no. Being a Canadian also means going through life with determination, gratitude and joy, no matter what the universe throws at you. The Brits have stiff upper lips. We can have joyful hearts. Article content To say I am in awe of Sims's courage and tireless advocacy would be a fine understatement. She inspires me to add my voice to those who demand better for people who live with disabilities, whether these be visible or not. Article content And goodness knows we have work to do in this city, where even something as basic as, say, providing accessible, clean and free public toilets is all but impossible, for reasons I will never understand. How can we have half a billion dollars to spend on Lansdowne 2.0 and virtually nothing to ensure people have equal access to public events such as Canada Day ceremonies regardless of ability, or can pee without having to buy coffee they don't want at McDonald's? And don't get me started on problems such as crumbling sidewalks, which make it difficult for those who use mobility devices. And so on. Article content It's common to call activists such as Diane Sims 'happy warriors,' and while I don't disagree, I want to suggest an amendment. It's not so much that she's happy. It's that she's joyful and grateful. Or as she says, quoting my favourite Benedictine monk, the great David Steindl-Rast, she's joyful because she has gratitude in her heart. Article content Diane Sims is someone who is open about her connection to the Divine. I do not wish to take anything away from that, simply to add that you don't need religious belief to experience gratitude and joy and live a purposeful, satisfying and happy life — in spite of any challenges that may be in your way. Article content Every time she faces a new difficulty, Sims reacts with renewed determination. And jokes — she has a wicked sense of humour. Every time she goes in for a medical procedure, which is distressingly often, she thanks doctors and nurses for what they do to help her. I tried to thank her for our phone conversation, and she insisted on thanking me. What she preaches, she lives to the fullest.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New York set to allow physician-assisted death for terminally ill patients
New York lawmakers on Monday passed a bill that would allow terminally ill adults to end their lives with doctor-prescribed lethal medication. The State Senate approved the measure with a 35-27 vote, following the state Assembly's approval in April. If signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York would join 11 other states that permit 'medical assistance in dying' (MAiD) or 'assisted suicide' for terminally ill patients, joining Oregon, Colorado, California, Vermont and other jurisdictions where MAiD has been legalized. New York is the second state to approve such legislation in 2025, following Delaware, which did so in May. The bill permits people diagnosed with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less to request a prescription for life-ending medication. To qualify, patients must be at least 18 years old, mentally competent, and have their diagnosis and prognosis confirmed by two physicians. A psychiatric evaluation is required only if deemed necessary by one of the physicians. Supporters of the bill argue that it provides terminally ill individuals with autonomy and a dignified end-of-life option. 'Since the first day that I began advocating for the MAiD Act, I have made it clear that this legislation is about honoring a terminally ill person's choice to make their own end-of-life decisions,' Staten Island Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton told the Advance/ 'This is about giving people the compassion and dignity that they deserve, the importance of which I have witnessed firsthand while meeting with many of the advocates for this legislation, many of whom were or are suffering from a terminal illness.' State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat and the bill's sponsor, echoed that sentiment: 'It's not about hastening death, but ending suffering,' he said, per ABC News. Opponents of the bill, which include the American Medical Association, express concerns about potential abuse, the adequacy of safeguards, and the potential impact on people who lack access to adequate care. 'This is not compassionate care. It is a policy that exploits fear, undermines trust in the medical profession, and opens the door to abuse and neglect,' members of The New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide said in a statement after the vote. Efforts to legalize medical aid in dying in New York date back more than a decade, but previous attempts through the courts were unsuccessful. The state's Supreme Court rejected a challenge in the 1990s, and in 2017, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that there is no constitutional right to physician-assisted death, leaving the matter to the legislature. Faith groups speak up Since the passage of the bill by the New York Senate, faith groups and religious leaders spoke up condemning the vote. Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, the largest umbrella organization of Orthodox Jews, called the vote a 'tragic development for all New Yorkers and a radical departure from the ethical assumptions shared by all faiths.' 'New Yorkers do not need assisted suicide; they need a whole-of society effort to provide 'Medical and Social Aid in Living,' to build hope and enhance care and treatment for the terminally ill and for the physically, emotionally and economically vulnerable, young and old,' Hauer said in a statement. The government must improve care and treatment for the terminally ill, he said. 'Instead, the government is leading the way in validating, accepting, and accelerating despair.' A Catholic group representing bishops of the state also criticized the vote. 'This is a dark day for New York state,' said a statement from Dennis Proust and The New York State Catholic Conference posted on X. The group called on the state to strengthen palliative care, health care and counseling services. 'Passage of the legislation also would send the message — perhaps unintentionally — that suicide is an acceptable solution to a problem," said Robert Bellafiore, the group's spokesman, per National Catholic Reporter. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, had described the proposal as 'a disaster waiting to happen" after the Assembly vote last month. Opponents argue that the legislation would hurt the vulnerable populations, especially those with disabilities and mental illness. The American Medical Association also expressed its opposition to MAiD. 'Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician's role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks,' according to American Medical Association's website. Dr. Lydia Dugdale, a physician and ethicist at Columbia University, argued that MAiD fails to protect people living with depression, a condition that can distort thinking and lead to suicidal decisions that don't reflect a person's true will. Modeled after the Oregon bill, the New York bill, if enacted, will not require patients to be screened for depression. 'This is a major oversight that fails to protect depressed people from making flawed decisions,' Dugdale wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed. 'Depression is not just a mood; it distorts perception, often convincing people that their lives are worthless, their loved ones are better off without them and death is their only option.' Groups opposing MAiD are calling on Hochul to refuse to sign bill. 'We strongly urge her to veto this legislation,' said a statement by The New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide. 'The governor still has the opportunity to uphold New York's commitment to suicide prevention, protect vulnerable communities, and affirm that every life — regardless of disability, age, or diagnosis — is worthy of care, dignity, and protection." Hochul, a Democrat and a Catholic, has not yet said whether she will sign the bill. The New York Times reported that a spokesperson only said she would review it.
National Post
08-06-2025
- Health
- National Post
Barbara Kay: A disabled man's fight for life in an age of MAiD
Article content How many disabled people choose MAiD because their will to live is sapped by the infantilizing strictures of institutional life or forced transfer to a care home far from loved ones, even though a cheaper and empowering alternative is available? It is to Foley's immense credit that he has bent his muscular will to insisting upon self-directed care, which is already a right in many western countries, such as the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland. Article content It almost became a right in Canada too. In 2015, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care introduced 'Patients First: A Roadmap to Strengthen Home and Community Care,' a plan which outlined the province's intent to introduce a self-directed care option to patients. Article content 'Putting patients first means giving clients and caregivers greater say in choosing a provider and how that provider delivers services,' read the report. 'Over the next two years, we will begin to offer a self-directed care option, in which clients and their caregivers are given funds to hire their own provider or purchase services from a provider of their choice.' Unfortunately, it never really got off the ground and was 'paused' in 2016, according to a local health network briefing obtained by Foley, which he shared with me. Article content Article content Since SDF would offer immeasurably better quality of life for Foley, free up a bed in the hospital and save LHSC a great deal of money, I'm hard-pressed to see the downside here. C.D. Howe Institute associate director of research Rosalie Wyonch provides additional support for my perspective. Patients like Foley, she told Postmedia earlier this week, 'take up more patient bed capacity than all the top 10 surgeries combined…. It's probably the single-biggest hospital capacity issue. If we were to fix it, we would essentially no longer be at risk of acute care bed shortages.' Article content Euthanasia, for those who want it, is considered a human right in Canada. Self-directed care for those disabled Canadians who do not want MAiD should also be considered a human right. Article content
National Post
07-06-2025
- Health
- National Post
Colby Cosh: There's no point to gatekeeping MAiD if doctors never say 'no'
Article content On Sunday the New York Times Magazine published a feature about Canada's legal regime for assisted suicide, wrapping large volumes of reporting on law, ethics and medicine around the individual story of Paula Ritchie, an Ontario woman who sought and received 'MAiD' after an unhappy life full of pain and misery. Article content Katie Engelhart's story plays pretty fair with an explosive social issue that is of increasing global concern. She knows the NYT 's world audience is aware of Canada's avant-garde experiment with the facilitation of medical suicide for patients who don't have terminal illnesses, and she doesn't stack the deck either way. Article content Article content She's not under any fanciful illusions about the quality of Canadian medicine or Canadian welfare, specifically describing how mere administrative mistakes can lead to intolerable suffering for which the Canadian state now provides a fatal exit. She acknowledges that there was nothing demonstrably wrong with Ritchie apart from mental illness and ill-specified 'functional disorders'; there is some accounting of times she refused potentially helpful treatments out of sheer despair. Article content Article content At the end of the story, as Ritchie is put to death like a sick pet with friends and family around her, one can't help thinking she might be better off — and one can't help wondering whether we are playing with fire. That very uncertainty is the whole problem with MAiD, of course. Because it is an experiment, we're left trying to extrapolate the second-order social effects of a legal regime over which nobody has complete political control. (MAiD is, to say the least, not the only social problem of this nature.) Article content Canadian law doesn't yet theoretically allow for MAiD for mental illness alone without some accompanying physical diagnosis. But a diagnosis is a label, and there is a myriad of labels available for those 'functional disorders' and chronic-pain syndromes whether or not there is any observable biological signature. If you want desperately to die with a doctor's help, as Ritchie did, you can probably find one who has an extreme ideological commitment to total patient autonomy, as Ritchie did, and get him to sign off, as Ritchie did. Article content Article content I don't know of any case where a doctor gave MAiD to anybody who didn't have a clear, emphatically expressed desire to die. And, as Engelhart points out, there is not yet any apparent epidemic of 'Track 2' assisted suicides not involving terminal or irresolvable physical illness. But her story hints uneasily that Canada may simply be turning euthanasia into just another medical specialty, or indeed turning some doctors into vending machines for lethal poisons. They're being asked, in Track 2 cases, to approve and facilitate suicide, or to refuse to do so, after assessing a patient's purely subjective suffering. One uneasy physician interviewee asks: 'If you want to allow people to end their lives when they want to, then put suicide kits in hardware stores, right?'
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The assisted dying movement is gaining momentum. These opponents are pushing back
What does it mean to die well, with dignity? The question is at the heart of the contentious debate over whether legalizing physician-assisted death for terminally ill patients is an act of compassion, upholding an individual's dignity, or a troubling step toward devaluing human life. The debate has recently returned to the spotlight in New York, where the state Assembly passed a bill in April that would allow terminally ill patients with a prognosis of six months or less to live to request life-ending medication. It also came up in May, when 'Dilbert' cartoonist Scott Adams revealed that he only has a few months to live and indicated that he might take advantage of California's End of Life Option Act. New York's proposal requires confirmation from two doctors, who must verify the diagnosis and ensure the patient is mentally sound. The measure passed narrowly — 81 to 67 — after more than four hours of debate. Its fate now rests with the state Senate, where it needs 32 votes to pass and currently has 26 co-sponsors. Currently, 12 jurisdictions — including Oregon, Colorado and the District of Columbia — permit what's commonly known as 'medical assistance in dying' (MAiD) or 'assisted suicide.' On May 20, Delaware became the latest state to legalize medical assistance in dying, and at least 19 other states are considering similar laws. Canada, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands have adopted MAiD laws, some extending eligibility to people without terminal illnesses. The United Kingdom is also reviewing a similar bill, with a vote expected later in June. 'Passing this bill is about love, compassion, and reducing needless suffering. No one should have to endure agony when there is a better, humane choice available. This is not a political issue — it's a human issue, and we owe it to New Yorkers to pass the Medical Aid in Dying Act,' said the bill's sponsor, Assemblymember Amy Paulin, D-Westchester, in a press release. Supporters argue that allowing patients to choose death in the face of unbearable suffering respects their dignity and autonomy. For those speaking out against the bill, legalizing physician-assisted suicide devalues life and puts vulnerable populations at risk, including people with disabilities, poor people and people with mental illness. Dr. Lydia Dugdale, a physician and ethicist at Columbia University, wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed that the debate isn't about dying well. 'It is about relieving society — government, medical systems, even families — of the responsibility to care for those who need the most help: the mentally ill, the poor, the physically disabled,' she wrote. Opponents worry about a 'slippery slope,' arguing that vague eligibility requirements could lead to the kind of expansion seen in Canada, where assisted suicide has become available to people suffering not only from terminal illness, but also from conditions like loneliness, eating disorders and mental illness. 'I cannot get through a day ... It's physical torture,' said a Canadian woman with a series of nonterminal diagnoses, whose journey seeking, and receiving, MAiD is the focus of a recent New York Times story. 'Once we go down this road, there is no going back,' said Ed Mechmann, the director of public policy at the Archdiocese of New York, speaking at a recent event in New York hosted by Communion and Liberation, a Catholic lay movement, along with other opponents of physician-assisted suicide. 'It will change the nature of health care, of living and dying forever,' Mechmann said. The terms 'physician-assisted death' or 'assisted suicide' typically refer to a medical practice in which a terminally ill person is provided a lethal dose of medication they can take to end their life. The term 'medical assistance in dying' is commonly used in U.S. and Canada policy discussions and often refers to both assisted suicide and euthanasia. Euthanasia, by contrast, involves a medical professional administering a life-ending medication, typically by injection, at the patient's request. Euthanasia is not legal in the states that have legalized MAiD, whereas countries like Canada and the Netherlands allow both. Although the proponents of MAiD often frame assisted suicide as a matter of personal autonomy, those who oppose it believe that in reality, it would accomplish the opposite and endanger vulnerable patients who struggle to access care and support. 'As a practicing physician, I will tell you this does not become a matter of choice for most people,' said Dugdale, author of the 2020 book 'The Lost Art of Dying,' speaking at the New York event. 'The concern is that once you have a choice legalized for the privileged few, it will then threaten life for many others who find it difficult to maintain life for a variety of reasons.' Weak safeguards of the laws and ambiguous definitions would likely contribute to eventually including a wide range of chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer and even mental health disorders like anorexia, Mechmann noted. In such cases, choosing death may not reflect true autonomy but rather systemic neglect, he said. In Colorado, for instance, patients with anorexia have already qualified for assisted death on the grounds that the condition can be fatal if untreated. In 2024, Quebec, a province in Canada, established the right for a person with a serious and incurable illness to choose a medically assisted death in advance. Also in Canada, patients with a mental illness as an underlying medical condition will be eligible for MAiD in 2027. But even with long-term patients, it can be difficult to determine whether a desire to die stems from informed decision-making or untreated depression, Dugdale said. 'The people who tend to seek to end their lives through lethal prescription, who want assisted suicide, are at high risk for depression demographically,' Dugdale said. Among those groups are older adults with advanced cancer, especially white men. Depression is often overlooked or misdiagnosed, despite being treatable. In Oregon, where MAiD has been legal the longest, less than 1% of patients requesting lethal prescriptions are referred for psychological evaluation. 'This is a major oversight that fails to protect depressed people from making flawed decisions,' Dugdale wrote in her op-ed. Opponents also challenge the popular narrative of MAiD as a carefully considered choice made by an informed patient with a long-trusted physician. 'Very few patients have a doctor they call their own anymore, or a doctor who knows them,' said Dr. Eve Slater, a physician and Columbia University professor at an online event hosted by Plough, a Christian magazine, on June 2. Slater, who previously served as assistant secretary for Health and Human Services, said that for many today, especially in New York, care is fragmented, which makes it more challenging to make intimate and ethically sound decisions. She added that legalizing physician-assisted death could further erode the foundational trust between doctor and patient. Physicians also often misjudge how long terminally ill patients will live, according to Slater. 'I've been thankfully proved wrong on many occasions,' Slater said. ' I think there is a fallacy in the premise that you qualify if you have less than six months to live, because any doctor who declares that is assuming a crystal ball that they don't have.' In reality, legalizing assisted death risks creating a new social norm — one that pressures vulnerable individuals, especially those who are alone, seriously ill or unsupported, into feeling like death is their best or only option. In 2019, Kate Connolly, a communications professional in New York City, received a call that her mother had been rushed to the hospital with a brain aneurysm, she recalled while speaking alongside Dugdale and Mechmann. For the next four and a half years, her mother remained confined to her bed and wheelchair, on a feeding tube, unable to do much without assistance. Yet, even in a severely disabled state, her mother's presence was cherished by her family before she died, Connolly said. 'Her family's role, which was also a great sacrifice, was to be steward, not dictators, but respectful stewards of a precious gift,' Connolly said. Around the same time, Connolly learned her unborn son had developed a cystic hygroma — a condition often considered incompatible with life. Both with her mother and her son, Connolly described pressure from medical professionals to end their life prematurely — through abortion or withdrawal of care, which were presented as practical and compassionate choices. She chose to continue her pregnancy, giving birth to a son and holding him after he died. Although hastening death may sometimes seem like a more compassionate and pragmatic decision, this mindset fosters a view of suffering lives as disposable, Connolly said. 'The truth is, from what I've seen, dying is not a problem to be solved,' she said. 'It is an experience to be lived and even embraced. It is a sacred time, truly set apart from any experience.' End-of-life decisions must involve thoughtful, peaceful conversations between patients, families and doctors, Connolly noted. 'What is the right course of action? What is reasonable or what is needlessly extending pain and suffering?' she said. 'You cannot ask these questions thoughtfully or with any real meaning when you're being pushed to just do the expedient thing and end the life in front of you.' According to studies from Canada, the top reasons that patients say they seek a lethal prescription are more social rather than physical. In Canada, the 2022 annual report revealed that the most commonly cited reasons for requesting MAiD were loss of ability to engage in meaningful activities (86%) and loss of ability to perform daily activities (81%). While supporters of MAiD often argue that alleviating pain is one of the main reasons for hastening the death of a patient, about 59% are concerned about 'controlling pain.' According to Oregon data, nearly 30% of MAiD-seeking patients cite current and future concerns about pain. 'So it's much more an issue of control,' Dugdale said, adding that the U.S. has robust pain control. 'Dying in pain is not an issue. It should not be an issue.' Instead, loss of independence and fear of being a burden often are. These fears should be met with care, not a prescription, Mechmann said. 'It's incumbent on us to make sure people don't feel (like a burden).' With her medical trainees, Dugdale observed a shift in attitudes toward physician-assisted dying. In recent conversations, she said, some trainees wondered, 'Why don't we just do away with our societal aversion to suicide altogether?' and embrace the view that if individuals wish to end their lives, they should be free to do so without interference. Once, she was asked whether assisted suicide can be a solution to the problem of loneliness. With this mindset, end-of-life decisions would be made through a utilitarian and individualistic lens. Many physicians are uneasy about appearing 'paternalist,' Dugdale said. 'And so to mitigate that, we defer everything to the patient,' she said. The core ethical principles of beneficence (doing good) and non-maleficence (avoiding harm) have, in practice, been overshadowed by an almost singular focus on autonomy, Dugdale said. For doctors, she continued, MAiD can offer a controlled intervention in the often unpredictable process of dying, providing a sense of agency amid uncertainty. 'There's already a growing pressure to sacrifice one's life for the so-called 'greater good' and to rid the world of expensive, hopeless cases,' she said. Normalizing the idea of choosing death, especially in a society already grappling with high health care costs and an aging population, may cause younger health care professionals to view seriously ill, expensive patients as burdens. A study from Oxford University points to a correlation between legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia and increased rates of more common forms of suicide in both the U.S. and Europe. 'Once it becomes widely acceptable that I can end my life on my own terms, that feeds a culture of death,' Dugdale said. In Canada, euthanasia is now the fifth most common cause of death. 'At some point, the vast majority of people in the state of New York are gonna be laying in a hospital bed. And when the doctor shows up, what are we gonna think? Is this my ally or is this my enemy?' Mechmann said. So what, then, is the way forward? Investing in meaningful relationships and community and maintaining deep personal connections through family, faith communities, clubs or friendships is a bulwark against loneliness and despair, experts agreed. It's human connection — not lethal prescriptions — that is the real antidote to suffering, participants in the event said. 'Suffering is inevitable,' Mechmann said. But the assisted suicide is a 'bad answer' to the problem of suffering. 'It's love, it's community, it's not despairing. It's being willing to embrace some of the suffering and to live with it and to walk with it.' Editor's note: This story deals with the practice of assisted suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line is always available. You can text or call 988 any time or chat at In Utah, you can also reach out to SafeUT, 833-372-3388, or download the SafeUT app.
