Medical Assistance in Dying When the Sole Underlying Medical Condition is a Mental Disorder

Presented by: Dr. Sam Mikail

In 2016 the Canadian government passed legislation amending the federal criminal code to allow for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) provided certain conditions are met. Several court challenges led to expansion of the eligibility criteria resulting in two pathways under which an individual can qualify for MAiD, a change that has led to an increase in the number of MAiD deaths in Canada.  The presentation will describe the two pathways and provide an overview of trends in MAiD deaths over the past decade. 

The latest development facing legislators and the health care community is a push to open MAiD to individuals whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental disorder.  Some of the challenges related to this issue will be reviewed and results of a recent survey exploring the views of Canadian psychologists will be summarized and compared to those of Canadian psychiatrists.