Law allowing for medical assistance in dying needs to be changed as soon as possible

The law allowing for medical assistance in dying needs to be changed as soon as possible. Since 2016, MAID has now been available to Canadians, with more than 7,000 Canadians having taken advantage of this medical procedure to end their lives, on their own terms and with dignity. Despite some dire predictions by groups lobbying against MAID, the sky has not fallen. However, it’s lacking in one key area—allowing preconditions to be set up prior to one’s health deteriorating to the point that you no longer qualify for MAID even though you want to end your life. We, the baby boomers, are reaching the golden years of our life. We are also reaching an age when our bodies are starting to fail. More worrisome are strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, or dementia, as well as other conditions that would affect our quality of life. In many cases, while we may want to die with dignity, our own health challenges may prevent us from qualifying for MAID, given the way the law is currently written. There are two strict criteria which must be met. First, the person wishing to receive medical assistance in dying agrees to do so after having received all of the information, including medical diagnosis and available forms of treatment, required to make an informed consent. Second, in addition to being able to give informed consent at the time of the initial request, the person must also be able to again give this informed consent immediately before medical assistance in dying is provided. The person making the request can withdraw the consent at any time. I was recently involved in supporting my 93-year-old mother-in-law who became a quadriplegic as the result of a fall. She was in a significant amount of pain and under severe mental distress. She was lucid, and realized that the rest of her existence was going to involve an unbearable quality of life. She could not see the point of living under those conditions until her natural death occurred. She requested MAID. Unfortunately, she could not convince the initial assessor that she was completely conversant with the details of the MAID process. As she was suffering from mild dementia, she could not remember the date when she made the formal request nor could she explain in detail the MAID process, including its risks. Having failed to meet this high threshold assessment, she was denied her request. The question around risks surprised me. Even though I had read several documents on MAID, I could not think of a risk, apart from surviving an attempt at ending one’s life. I simply presumed that the medical staff would swiftly administer additional life-ending medication to end one’s life. Following the failure of the first assessment, we considered assisted-death options abroad. A number of states in the United States have a similar system, along with a number of European countries. All except one require the patient to be a resident. Switzerland is the only country that allows foreigners to end their life through the use of their medical system. Unfortunately, in the case of my quadriplegic mother-in-law, the Swiss law requires the patient to take the medication without help. There were no other options available to her. I experienced similar situations before MAID was available. I supported my mother during the last six months of her life. Towards the end, she was mortified at having to rely on the support staff and, at times, male nurses after she had defecated in her bed, but was too weak to clean herself. She told me on several occasions that she could not wait for it to be over. A similar situation involved my father-in-law who died of stomach cancer. The quality of his life during the last six months was atrocious. In both cases, it was hard on them and the families. The medical profession spares no effort to help us come into this world. Unfortunately, in a paradoxical way, it spares no efforts to keep us into this world, even though it might be time for us to leave it. Medical technology has advanced tremendously from the days when I was a young man. Technically, a patient can be kept alive in a vegetative state for decades. The ethical dimension of the profession has not evolved in a parallel way to deal with the end of life decisions. If I was in a situation where medical resources were required to keep me alive against my wishes, perhaps they would be better deployed to support younger people who might have an opportunity for recovery and a better quality of life. I wish to be in a position that I can dictate ahead of time the conditions under which I would want to access MAID, even though I might perhaps no longer be in a position to state it until the last moment as required by the law today. I would also want my advocate with power of attorney to be legally able to direct medical assistance in dying on my behalf. But that’s not the case at the moment. There needs to be safety protocols to prevent an abuse of the procedure. For example, there could have to be a legal document produced while being of sound mind, memory, and understanding. That document could require a doctor’s attestation that the individual is sound of mind and fully understands the request for MAID at the time the preconditions are established. But the law does not allow the use of preconditions. There is an urgent need to change the law to allow for the use of preconditions under certain circumstances.. Time is running out for the baby boomers to be able to dictate the conditions under which they wish to avail themselves of MAID. Some of the preconditions could be as follows: being in a coma with no hope of recovery; being paralyzed and no longer able to make the request myself; no longer aware of date, time and place; no longer able to recognize family members. One of the benefits of MAID is an increase in organ donations. It is ironic that, by ending one’s life, others can be saved. Earlier this year, I wrote to the justice minister, requesting a review of the law to allow one to set the preconditions. I copied my letter to the prime minister, opposition leaders, and other not-for-profit organizations. I encourage all baby boomers to do the same and to do it now. The law will only be changed if the politicians are convinced that there is strong, popular support for it. Pierre Leblanc lives in Orleans, Ont. The Hill Times

Law allowing for medical assistance in dying needs to be changed as soon as possible

It’s lacking in one key area—allowing preconditions to be set up prior to one’s health deteriorating to the point that you no longer qualify for MAID even though you want to end your life.

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Law allowing for medical assistance in dying needs to be changed as soon as possible

It’s lacking in one key area—allowing preconditions to be set up prior to one’s health deteriorating to the point that you no longer qualify for MAID even though you want to end your life.

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