Understand
Canada indefinitely suspends plans to expand assisted dying to people with mental illness
Overview
Canada has announced an indefinite suspension of its plans to expand medically assisted dying (Maid) to individuals whose sole condition is mental illness. Justice Minister Sean Fraser cited a lack of consensus on eligibility as the reason for the pause. The government plans to introduce new legislation to indefinitely halt this expansion while simultaneously allowing advanced requests for assisted dying in cases of progressive incurable illnesses.
Key points
- Canada has indefinitely suspended plans to allow medically assisted dying for individuals whose sole condition is mental illness.
- Justice Minister Sean Fraser stated that the decision follows a parliamentary panel recommendation and a lack of consensus on eligibility.
- The government will introduce new legislation in the coming weeks to formalise the indefinite suspension.
- The new legislation will also permit patients with progressive incurable illnesses to make advanced requests for assisted dying before their health deteriorates.
- Medically assisted dying was legalised in Canada in 2016 for terminally ill patients and was later expanded in 2021 to include incurable conditions where death is not imminent.