MAID is a medically assisted suicide program in Canada meant to offer relief to people living with permanent chronic pain. A recent report from a parliamentary committee now recommends expanding the program to include “mature minors” and patients with mental illness.
This is a tough one to sit with. The committee recommends considering a medically assisted death for minors who are deemed to have “requisite decision-making capacity” and only for those whose “natural death is reasonably foreseeable.”
According to the National Post, “They also recommend the government fund research into the views and experiences of minors when it comes to assisted dying.”
MAID has come under attack from critics who say that it is too accessible to and sometimes offered to people who do not want to die but are simply seeking help. It gives one pause to think about the message this would send to young people, especially if mental health is on the table. In a world where we should aim for mental resilience, is it dangerous to offer death as an accessible option?
