A new national survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Dying With Dignity Canada (DWDC) shows 84% of Canadians support the Carter v. Canada decision that introduced Canada's assisted dying legislation.DWDC says the results are significant because "despite the alarmist and misleading information perpetrated about medical assistance in dying (MAiD) over the past year, people across the country can clearly distinguish between fact and fiction and the sensible development of end-of-life clinical options which should be available to persons who are suffering grievously and meet the eligibility requirements for MAiD."The poll also shows strong support for advance requests for MAiD, a legislative change recommended by the Special Joint Committee on MAiD in their final report in February 2023. An advance request would allow an individual to describe, in writing, a future circumstance in which they would like to access an assisted death. DWDC calls this a "sensible reform to the Criminal Code that would strengthen end-of-life choice for people across the country."Susan Archibald gave a personal account in support of MAiD in a DWDC press release."My husband, Dave, was very clear about his wishes after his Alzheimer's diagnosis at the age of 55. He established criteria under which he no longer wanted to live; essentially an advance request for MAiD. Today, he is unable to walk, talk, or feed himself, conditions that I know he did not want to live under. We need to legalize advance requests for MAiD so people like my husband do not have to suffer and live under such intolerable conditions at the end of their lives."The poll found 83% of Canadians support advance requests for MAiD for someone diagnosed with a capacity-eroding, grievous and irremediable medical condition, who will eventually be unable to decide for themselves. The poll also found 95% support for this choice from those who personally suffer from a degenerative neurocognitive condition.Helen Long, CEO of Dying With Dignity Canada, said many people want the ability to authorize their deaths in advance."Over 16,000 people signed a petition this year in support of advance requests for MAiD. This is the issue that is not only important to our supporters but to people across Canada. We speak to people every day who want to be able to put in writing the circumstances in which they would like an assisted death should they not be able to speak for themselves," Long said."These are people who understand or have supported someone through a condition such as dementia and who do not want to experience the same suffering and loss of quality of life. People want to know they have control and autonomy of their life and death and the lack of advance requests for MAiD remains a barrier to end-of-life choice for many."The province of Quebec has already passed a law authorizing advance requests for MAiD and 43% of people across the country say this knowledge makes them more likely to support national legislation."Quebec should be applauded for their leadership on this issue and the federal government now needs to follow suit to avoid disparity in health care across the country," DWDC said in its release.More data and a further breakdown of poll results can be found here. A sample of 2,000 Canadians aged 18 years and over was interviewed on the Ipsos I-Say Panel from March 15 to 20, 2024. Weighting was employed to ensure that the sample's composition reflects the overall population according to the latest census information.Dying With Dignity Canada is the national human-rights charity committed to improving quality of dying, protecting end-of-life rights, and helping people across Canada avoid unwanted suffering.The main question was couched in a long preamble, with the results shown below: "The Supreme Court of Canada recognized medical assistance in dying as a constitutionally-protected right. According to the court’s 2015 Carter v Canada decision, a person has a right to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) if they satisfy all the following criteria: they are a competent adult; they have a grievous and irremediable medical condition (illness, disease or disability); their condition causes them suffering that is intolerable to them; and they clearly consent to the termination of life. Do you support or oppose the Supreme Court’s decision?"
