Ever since the Rodriguez case was heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1993, medical assistance in dying has been recognized as an issue with special implications for people with disabilities. Currently the federal government is engaged in consultations on revisions to the Criminal Code governing medical assistance in dying (MAID), specifically focusing on the need for a “reasonably foreseeable natural death”, and safeguards to ensure the security of vulnerable citizens. CDPA joined a number of disability advocates to advise a panel of 3 federal Ministers – Hon. Carla Qualtrough (Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion), Hon. Patty Hajdu (Health), and Hon. David Lametti (Justice / Attorney General). Impassioned testimony reinforced the need to balance the rights of disabled people to the same choices as other Canadians, while at the same time challenging assumptions about reasons for MAID in the absence of proximal death.
Medical assistance in dying (MAID) and disability
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