- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
Mental HealthAssisted Death in Ontario under the Microscope

Assisted Death in Ontario under the Microscope

Here is the rewritten content:

Marginalization and MAiD

The Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario has released new reports highlighting some of the reasons why some Canadians have chosen medical assistance in dying (MAiD). These reports have received international attention for what they reveal, including patients being euthanized despite untreated mental illness and addictions, unclear medical diagnoses, and suffering fuelled by housing insecurity, poverty, and social marginalization.

The coroner’s reports show how far over the cliff we’ve fallen with Track 2 MAiD. Track 2 allows Canadians with disabilities who are not dying to receive medical assistance in dying, and in 2023, it represented 2.6 per cent of the 4,644 MAiD deaths in Ontario, or 116 people.

I am not a conscientious objector. I am a psychiatrist and previously chaired my former hospital’s MAiD team. However, I believe we’ve experienced a bait and switch: laws initially intended to compassionately help Canadians avoid a painful death have metastasized into policies facilitating suicides of other Canadians seeking death to escape a painful life.

One of the most alarming issues revealed by the coroner’s reports is the powerful correlation between marginalization and MAiD. According to the report, people in the lowest “material resource” category (those in poverty) represent 20 per cent of the general population, but they make up 28.4 per cent of Track 2 MAiD recipients, compared to 21.5 per cent of Track 1 recipients.

Similarly, people in the lowest 20 per cent of the population with the worst housing instability make up 48.3 per cent of Track 2 MAiD recipients, compared to 34.3 per cent of Track 1 recipients. Track 2 recipients were also far more likely to come from the most vulnerable 20 per cent of the population in terms of age and labor force participation, with 56.9 per cent of Track 2 MAiD recipients coming from this category compared to 41.8 per cent of Track 1 MAiD recipients.

Gender gaps are also emerging, with more women receiving Track 2 MAiD.

The report sheds light on specific cases of concern, including people receiving Track 2 MAiD for social and housing vulnerability, and for unclear reasons while still suffering from inadequately treated mental illness and addictions.

Denialism

Policy mistakes can occur, but these marginalized deaths result from wilful avoidance and denial of evidence-based cautions. I have previously written of the lack of safeguards and absence of evidence informing MAiD expansion. Beyond the evidence in the coroner’s report, there are clear signs of this denial:

Some expansion advocates have already creatively dismissed concerns about the coroner reports. The head-scratching argument is that, since marginalization leads to higher death rates of the marginalized anyway, the fact that Track 2 MAiD is provided to marginalized people at the same or slightly lower rates than their usual high “decedent” rates means MAiD is not a risk to the marginalized. There is even the bold suggestion that “MAiD narrows the gap between privileged and deprived.”

The remarkable blind spot of this privileged perspective is obvious: none of the marginalized receiving Track 2 MAiD would have died if they had not gotten MAiD; even their own MAiD assessors predicted they would have over another decade of life to live (otherwise they would have been Track 1).

Arguing that a higher proportion of marginalized people dying from Track 2 MAiD is acceptable because they die at similar rates anyway is disturbing and revealing. Most people in Canada are aware of the issue of Indigenous youth disenfranchisement and suicide. Consider the natural implications of this dangerous argument. Death rates for First Nations youth under 20 are three to five times higher than youth death rates for non-Indigenous populations, driven by suicide and unintentional injuries. Does MAiD expansionist logic suggest that it would be acceptable to provide high levels of Track 2 MAiD to First Nations 19-year-olds since their social disenfranchisement puts them at higher risk of death anyway?

Claiming that state-facilitated death fueled by social deprivation is acceptable since more marginalized people die from social deprivation and structural inequities anyway is indistinguishable from eugenics.

‘Social murder’

During COVID-19, some suggested our social policies linked to marginalized deaths were enabling “social murder,” a term coined by Friedrich Engels in the 19th century describing working conditions causing premature deaths of English workers. How should we describe Canadian policy providing state facilitated deaths to non-dying marginalized individuals fueled by social suffering?

Conclusion

The data is clear: our expanded MAiD policies are fueling state-sponsored death for Canadians experiencing social marginalization. Denialism and refusal to acknowledge evidence-based cautions must end. It’s time for policymakers to recognize the suffering for which some marginalized Canadians are receiving state-sponsored MAiD, rather than taking refuge behind “small numbers” justifications and suicide denial.

FAQs

Q: What are the coroner’s reports revealing?
A: The reports are highlighting some of the reasons why some Canadians have chosen medical assistance in dying (MAiD), including patients being euthanized despite untreated mental illness and addictions, unclear medical diagnoses, and suffering fueled by housing insecurity, poverty, and social marginalization.

Q: What is Track 2 MAiD?
A: Track 2 MAiD allows Canadians with disabilities who are not dying to receive medical assistance in dying.

Q: What is the connection between marginalization and MAiD?
A: The coroner’s reports show a powerful correlation between marginalization and MAiD, with people in the lowest “material resource” category (those in poverty) making up 28.4 per cent of Track 2 MAiD recipients, and people with the worst housing instability making up 48.3 per cent of Track 2 MAiD recipients.

Subscribe Today

Stay updated with the latest in health and fitness by subscribing to our newsletter! Receive exclusive workout tips, nutritious recipes, and motivational stories straight to your inbox. Join our community today and take a step towards a healthier, happier you.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Exclusive content

- Advertisement -

Latest article

More article

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -