Canada bill bars MAiD for mental illness, allows advance requests

Justice Minister Sean Fraser introduced legislation on October 27 that would bar medical assistance in dying (MAiD) when mental illness is the sole underlying condition and establish a framework for advance requests in provinces that authorize them. Bill C-41 would amend the Criminal Code to allow an adult to make a written request for MAiD before losing the capacity to consent. The request would apply later only if specified conditions are met, and the bill would not require provinces to make the process available. Quebec already permits advance requests, while Alberta has passed legislation prohibiting them, according to reports on provincial rules. The Justice Department said an advance request would not lead automatically to MAiD. A person would still have to meet the eligibility requirements and be experiencing intolerable suffering when MAiD is provided, the department said. The government has described the bill’s safeguards as intended to ensure the decision is voluntary and free from external pressure. Under the proposal, two separate practitioners would have to confirm eligibility for an advance request, including that the person is in irreversible decline. The...