What is a 'safe death'? Mentally ill woman asks for assisted dying in Canada
Summary
A Canadian woman with severe mental illness is asking for legal access to medically assisted dying, a procedure currently not allowed for people whose only illness is mental health-related. Canada has delayed expanding its assisted dying law to include mental illness due to concerns that the healthcare system is not ready.Key Facts
- Claire Brosseau has bipolar disorder and PTSD, and has tried many treatments without success.
- She describes herself as "functionally terminal" and wants to access medically assisted dying in Canada (called MAID).
- Currently, MAID is legal in Canada but not for people with only mental illnesses.
- The Canadian government has postponed expanding MAID eligibility to mental illness patients twice.
- A parliamentary committee is reviewing whether to allow assisted dying for mental illness but has heard warnings that the system is not prepared.
- Some experts say mental illness is not well understood, making it hard to tell if a patient is truly incurable.
- The debate includes concerns that assisted dying might replace better social supports for disabled people.
- Brosseau has asked an Ontario court to allow her access to MAID, arguing current laws unfairly exclude people with mental illness.
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