The judge in a potentially precedent-setting Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) case says he’s almost certain it will be appealed — potentially to the Supreme Court — no matter how he rules.And that’s why he gave strong indications he’s inclined to extend an injunction against allowing a Calgary woman’s medically assisted suicide to proceed — specifically so that she won’t be dead before all the various parties in a complex case can give leave to state their respective points of view.Justice Colin Feasby on Monday told a Calgary courtroom a case calling for judicial review of an injunction against a 27-year-old autistic woman’s application for MAiD is “by far” the most complex and difficult he’s ever heard in his years on the bench..“I think that this is a matter of public interest. On which, whatever way it goes, the Court of Appeal may well be the appropriate place for these matters to be explored.”Justice Colin Feasby.And though he said he’s confident in making the right judgement in balancing the woman’s right to self-determination with the father’s concerns over due process in approving his daughter’s application to die, he’s also certain it will wind up in the Court of Appeal.Although he’s yet to make a ruling, the judge expressed concerns that any potential appeal would be moot if the applicant was already deceased by the time it was brought forward.So much so, he directed all the various lawyers involved — for the father, the daughter, Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the doctors involved — to begin preparing their respective appeals ahead of his decision, in order to expedite the legal process.At issue is a young woman who can only be identified as ‘M’ who was cleared to have her life ended on February 1, before her father ‘W’ intervened and obtained an injunction halting the procedure..As an adult, even one with autism, ‘M’ would be allowed to get an abortion — or even a tattoo — without parental consent..In it, he argues AHS has not exercised its administrative duty to ensure that the criteria for MAiD has been met before it proceeds with what ‘M’s’ lawyers are calling a “routine” medical procedure.That’s because she has failed to provide the court with details of her condition or whether it can be treated. In addition the doctors — who also can’t be identified — aren’t unanimous in their respective diagnoses. Although ‘M’ managed to obtain the two required referrals to qualify for MAiD, Judge Feasby wants to hear from the lone dissenter. In addition, a neurologist in 2021 described ‘M’ as ‘normal’.Combined with her autism and ADHD, that’s prompting her father ‘W’ to conclude she doesn't have the mental capacity to choose to die even more than his personal appeal to save his daughter’s life..That’s not withstanding gaps in the system that are allowing it to happen, which he is accusing of negligence.For her part, ‘M’s’ lawyers and the AHS are arguing that it is beyond the authority of the courts to question the qualified opinions of clinical professionals.Also at issue is the role of parents in making decisions on behalf of their children. As an adult, even one with autism, ‘M’ would be allowed to get an abortion — or even a tattoo — without parental consent.In the end, Justice Feasby said it may well be for a higher court to decide.“I think that this is a matter of public interest. On which, whatever way it goes, the Court of Appeal may well be the appropriate place for these matters to be explored.”
The judge in a potentially precedent-setting Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) case says he’s almost certain it will be appealed — potentially to the Supreme Court — no matter how he rules.And that’s why he gave strong indications he’s inclined to extend an injunction against allowing a Calgary woman’s medically assisted suicide to proceed — specifically so that she won’t be dead before all the various parties in a complex case can give leave to state their respective points of view.Justice Colin Feasby on Monday told a Calgary courtroom a case calling for judicial review of an injunction against a 27-year-old autistic woman’s application for MAiD is “by far” the most complex and difficult he’s ever heard in his years on the bench..“I think that this is a matter of public interest. On which, whatever way it goes, the Court of Appeal may well be the appropriate place for these matters to be explored.”Justice Colin Feasby.And though he said he’s confident in making the right judgement in balancing the woman’s right to self-determination with the father’s concerns over due process in approving his daughter’s application to die, he’s also certain it will wind up in the Court of Appeal.Although he’s yet to make a ruling, the judge expressed concerns that any potential appeal would be moot if the applicant was already deceased by the time it was brought forward.So much so, he directed all the various lawyers involved — for the father, the daughter, Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the doctors involved — to begin preparing their respective appeals ahead of his decision, in order to expedite the legal process.At issue is a young woman who can only be identified as ‘M’ who was cleared to have her life ended on February 1, before her father ‘W’ intervened and obtained an injunction halting the procedure..As an adult, even one with autism, ‘M’ would be allowed to get an abortion — or even a tattoo — without parental consent..In it, he argues AHS has not exercised its administrative duty to ensure that the criteria for MAiD has been met before it proceeds with what ‘M’s’ lawyers are calling a “routine” medical procedure.That’s because she has failed to provide the court with details of her condition or whether it can be treated. In addition the doctors — who also can’t be identified — aren’t unanimous in their respective diagnoses. Although ‘M’ managed to obtain the two required referrals to qualify for MAiD, Judge Feasby wants to hear from the lone dissenter. In addition, a neurologist in 2021 described ‘M’ as ‘normal’.Combined with her autism and ADHD, that’s prompting her father ‘W’ to conclude she doesn't have the mental capacity to choose to die even more than his personal appeal to save his daughter’s life..That’s not withstanding gaps in the system that are allowing it to happen, which he is accusing of negligence.For her part, ‘M’s’ lawyers and the AHS are arguing that it is beyond the authority of the courts to question the qualified opinions of clinical professionals.Also at issue is the role of parents in making decisions on behalf of their children. As an adult, even one with autism, ‘M’ would be allowed to get an abortion — or even a tattoo — without parental consent.In the end, Justice Feasby said it may well be for a higher court to decide.“I think that this is a matter of public interest. On which, whatever way it goes, the Court of Appeal may well be the appropriate place for these matters to be explored.”
