A Calgary man whose 27-year-old autistic daughter is seeking Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) has abandoned his desperate, ongoing legal pursuit to block the process. An expedited appeal hearing is now scheduled for June 28.He had earlier filed two separate appeals with the Alberta Court of Appeal to keep in place an injunction preventing his daughter (who is referred to as MV in court documents), from ending her life, which Court of King’s Bench Justice Colin Feasby lifted in a March 25 decision. Feasby had ordered a stay of his ruling in order to allow the father the appeals. His lawyer, Sarah Miller, filed discontinuation notices for both appeals on June 6, the Calgary Sun reported. Redacted court documents were released by the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, containing a letter from Miller indicating she was discontinuing the appeals, as the daughter took certain actions.The court had redacted the explanation from Miller in her note as to what those actions are. The only detail available was that her client had received information. Details were redacted. Miller’s letter indicated she had contacted lawyers of both the autistic woman and Alberta Health Services (AHS), named a respondent in the original injunction application, for clarification, but did not receive further information. “As such, we write to provide advanced notice and advise the court that should MV (redacted content) we will be filing a discontinuation appeal as the question of an injunction will become moot,” wrote Miller. On April 8, Justice Anne Kirker stayed Feasby’s ruling pending a hearing scheduled for Oct. 7, with consent from MV’s and AHS’s lawyers. However, MV’s lawyers, Evan Jovanovic and Austin Paladeau, last week submitted to the court their client’s request to rescind Kirker’s order, as she had begun starving herself to death.
