canada's medical assistance in dying (MAID) law

[paroxysm]

what are your thoughts on the MAID law and should the US have it? i believe some people like me weren't made for this world so we should have the right to leave it. the MAID law only covers physical illness and not mental health but if it did i would sign up immediately.

 

[ThisUnrest]

There are 11 US states that have some form of MAID law. I don't know how each of them compares to Canada's, but I'm guessing they are likely more restrictive.

 

[Ligand]

The current implementation of MAID in Canada seems to have gone pretty well. It is mostly being utilized by extremely old people dying of terminal conditions like cancer. There are countless stories online of families that have had their elderly fathers or mothers opt for MAID instead of slowly dying from terminal illness, and almost all of them are overwhelmingly positive. There are relatively few negative reports of MAID being misused, or being "pushed on to people." You can find stories like this, but this happened really early on into the implementation of the program, and it seems like this has mostly stopped.

Officially MAID was supposed to be extended to people with severe, untreatable mental health issues earlier this year, but the Canadian government postponed the extension to March 17, 2024. This extension has been extremely controversial and I'm not sure if it will ever be implemented. I'm personally in favor of it, and I feel like most people on this website would be.

There is no direct equivalent to MAID in the United States. MAID is active euthanasia via physician, while most assisted deaths in the United States are undergone via barbiturate prescription prescribed by physicians, which must then be taken by the patient at a later date. These prescriptions are only given out under extremely stringent conditions- such as being within six months of death, and there are extremely few people that actually go through with "assisted death" in the United States due to the crazy requirements (only hundreds per year). The best we have to offer in the United States is our relatively robust system of palliative care. We also have the nationwide ability to refuse any life-prolonging medical intervention, this right extends to being able to refuse food and water until death (known as VSED), although this is certainly less dignified than physician assisted death. Although I will say that this is better than the countries that do not allow you to refuse medical care (Russia, Belarus, ect.)

The polling about support for physician assisted death varies quite a bit depending on how the question is phrased, but generally speaking, most Americans seem to be in favor of the US having some form of active euthanasia legalized.

 

[lsssrrr]

The funny thing about the USA is they won't give you any healthcare or social services, but they won't let you die either

Just look at how they treat abortion

 

[FuneralCry]

I very strongly believe that assisted suicide should be legalised everywhere and I find it so inhumane and disgusting how it isn't as the option to peacefully escape from suffering should be there at all times.

Nobody should ever have to attempt risky suicide methods, do suicide method research or feel like they have to continue suffering in this existence that was completely unnecessary in the first place all because of the difficulty of suicide.

Death is the most normal thing anyway, we are just waiting around to die and to have the option to peacefully cease existing our own terms is something relieving, it's suffering prevention so it just shows a complete lack of compassion how it's not legalised everywhere, it's not legalised at all where I live, those who are able to access MAID are fortunate.