As support for euthanasia grows across the country, the line between genuine and holistic palliative care and medical assistance in dying has become increasingly blurred nearly inconclusively according to palliative care professionals in Canada.

The Court of Appeal of Alberta has granted the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) intervenor status in the controversial case of a 27-year-old Calgary woman with autism seeking approval for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) against her father’s wishes.

French deputies began to work on the proposed "end of life" bill May 27, which, as it now stands, promises to be extremely permissive regarding euthanasia and medically assisted suicide.

Excerpt from the blog of Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition updating events in the world of medically delivered death.

Alberta’s pro-life community is denouncing a Calgary judge’s ruling to permit a 27-year-old woman with autism to receive euthanasia against the wishes of her father, who is opposing her in court.  

A decision by a judge in Calgary, Alberta, in favor of a young woman seeking medically assisted suicide over her father's objections amounts to "the blatant devaluing of persons with disabilities," a Canadian activist told OSV News.

The grim calculus of tracking the cost of Medical Assistance in Dying shows that B.C. doctors receive $283.85 for every “MAiD Event preparation and Procedure” they perform.

Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) access for individuals solely living with a mental illness is officially delayed until March 17, 2027, as the Senate of Canada passed Bill C-62 at third reading Feb. 29.  

Speakers at a rally on Parliament Hill demanded the federal government provide more life-saving supports for those deeply suffering from mental illness rather than giving them access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD).

Canada is already too far down the slippery slope with regard to medically assisted dying, and should aim for “living with dignity” as opposed to “dying with dignity” say proponents of more compassionate alternatives for the mentally ill and other vulnerable populations.

The federal government established a pathway for Bill C-62 — the legislation that, if passed by Parliament before March 17, will halt the expansion of Canada’s euthanasia regime for at least two years — to likely progress through the House of Commons before the end of Feb. 15. 

The director of the B.C. Aboriginal Network on Disability Society perfectly summarized last week’s delay in extending doctor-delivered death to the mentally ill. “It’s not like a win or anything,” Neil Belanger told Register reporter Anna Farrow.

In what could prove to be a landmark case for religious and conscience rights in Canada, Montreal’s Archbishop Christian Lépine has taken on the Attorney General of Quebec.

The federal government is planning to delay its planned expansion of assisted suicide for individuals sole living with mental illness until March 2027.

Groups battling the federal government’s expansion of MAiD to the mentally ill say the delay announced Jan. 29 is no cause to claim victory.