The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association is calling on the provincial and federal governments to review medically-assisted dying legislation to ensure proper safeguards are in place.
The association’s executive director Liza Hughes says in a statement that it’s aware of “concerning reports” of people being offered MAID in circumstances that may not legally qualify or are a result of intolerable social circumstances.
That statement comes after the family of a 52-year-old man who received MAID while on a day pass from a Vancouver psychiatric hospital launched a constitutional challenge last week to the procedure’s legal framework.
That lawsuit follows another case about two months ago in which a B.C. judge halted an Alberta woman’s medically assisted death, the day before she was scheduled to receive the procedure in Vancouver.
The BCCLA was on the forefront of the fight to decriminalize medical assistance in dying almost a decade ago.
Hughes says it stands by its work for people’s right to seek medically assisted dying, but adds that no one should be coerced into that choice.
She called the issue “complex, sensitive and nuanced,” saying the civil liberties organization emphasizes the importance of choice, agency and bodily autonomy.
“Governments must put in place, actively review, and enforce appropriate safeguards to ensure that people are making this decision freely and provide adequate social supports so that people are able to lead dignified lives,” Hughes says.
“We will continue to hold the government accountable as our work around MAID evolves, recognizing MAID’s role in reducing intolerable suffering and the importance of preserving bodily autonomy and the right to choose.”
Medically assisted death in Canada is only currently legal for people on the basis of a physical health condition. Applicants whose medical condition is mental illness will remain ineligible until at least March 2027.
Health Canada reported this month in its fifth annual report on MAID that 15,343 people received medical assistance in dying in Canada in 2023, which represented a 15.8 per cent increase from 2022.