A coalition is challenging a section of Canada’s law on medical assistance in dying, arguing it is discriminatory and is “forcing” some people with disabilities into feeling like death is their only option.Â
The challenge is the latest salvo in a thorny and ongoing debate about the role MAID should have in Canadian society and the limits that lawmakers should place on it.
Under the law, patients whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable but whose condition leads to intolerable suffering can apply for a track-two assisted death.
The law was revised in 2021 to exclude the requirement that the patient’s natural death be “reasonably foreseeable,†in response to the Superior Court of Quebec declaring it unconstitutional.
The disabilities groups say they do not oppose MAID at large, but are against the specific track two part of the law because it “singles out” people with disabilities, said Krista Carr, executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada, one of the groups that launched the challenge.
The coalition contends the law violates the Charter rights of people with disabilities in two areas — their right to life, liberty and security, as well as their right to equality.Â
In its legal application, the coalition alleges that because track two does not require treatment options to be exhausted before accessing MAID, it may “incentivize death†over other options for people with disabilities.
“We have singled out one particular Charter-protected group of people ... and we are saying that we will give you the support you need to die, we will not give you the support you need to live,†said Carr.
“It’s a heck of a lot cheaper to give somebody a lethal injection than it is to support them to live.â€
The coalition behind the Charter challenge includes national disability rights organizations including Inclusion Canada, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Indigenous Disability Canada and the Disabled Women’s Network of Canada. It also includes two individual plaintiffs. They filed their notice of application in Ontario Superior Court on Wednesday and said they “look forward to the court defending the rights of people with disabilities in Canada.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice called MAID a “complex and deeply personal issue.”
“The government of Canada is committed to ensuring our laws reflect Canadians’ needs, protect those who may be vulnerable, and support autonomy and freedom of choice,” Ian McLeod wrote in an emailed statement. “We will further present the government’s position in our submissions in court.”
The coalition says the availability of track two has led to premature deaths and stigmatizes people with disabilities, sending a broader message to society that their lives are “intolerable and not worth living.â€
Carr said the government should be focused on addressing issues such as social deprivation, poverty and a lack of essential supports, conditions she says leaves people feeling as if they have no choice in determining their fate.
“People who are not dead yet are now being put at huge risk and huge harm and huge fear every time they have any kind of encounter with the medical system,” she said. “It’s not a choice. It’s what society is forcing upon people.”
Carr highlighted the case of Heather Walkus, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, who has multiple sclerosis and vision loss. She said Walkus has been offered MAID on two different occasions, including once for an injured hip.
“It’s much easier to get death right now for people with disabilities than it is to get life,†Carr said.
The challenge, however, causes great concern to people such as Andrew Adams, a B.C. man who suffers from abdominal migraines, a debilitating condition he says he’s had since childhood and hasn’t been able to treat successfully.
Andrew Adams, in British Columbia, was approved for track two MAID and says he is disappointed by a Charter challenge by a coalition of disabilities groups.
Andrew AdamsHe described it as having ongoing food poisoning and migraines simultaneously, which he says leaves him incapacitated for long periods of time.
He said being approved for MAID under track two and having the option to end his life if he so chooses provided him huge psychological and emotional relief.
“There’s a quote that I like that says a prison becomes a home when you have the key. That is how I feel MAID transformed my life,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like a prison now.”
He said he’s tried all the different treatment options available to him and nothing has worked, and predicts he will eventually go through with medically-assisted death.
“There’s no amount of money that’s going to help me,†he said. “I’m getting sick of the suffering ... I just find the other option intolerable to contemplate.”
The CEO of the organization Dying with Dignity Canada, Helen Long, said there’s no evidence to support the idea that people are being approved for medically assisted death for the wrong reasons.
“There have been stories in the media about people requesting or suggesting that they’re going to have MAID because they can’t get the support that they need to live well. But those are not actually eligibility criteria, and there is no evidence that anyone has accessed MAID on that basis,” Long said.
The law says that for someone to qualify for MAID, they must “have enduring and intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated under conditions the person considers acceptable.”
Adams said while he doesn’t think the challenge will be successful, he still feels threatened by it. He added that he believes the coalition is overreaching in their advocacy.
“Ultimately, if I qualify, it’s dependent on my medical condition. So the rest of it is really nobody’s business.â€
With files from The Canadian Press
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