One organization is looking to protect individuals who have changed their minds about receiving MAiD after previously making an advance request.Dementia Justice Canada (DJC) is hoping to alter the amendments to the Liberal government's proposed legislation which would allow individuals to make an advance request for MAiD without the need to consent when it is administered.The proposed changes to the MAiD requirements were announced earlier this month after the feds had stated they would not be allowing MAiD solely for mental illness.DJC claims if individuals who can no longer speak for themselves or consent to MAiD but are receiving it regardless due to a previous request, this "raise[s] an access to justice challenge.".They claim a few outside influences might pressure individuals into agreeing to an advance request despite not wanting it themselves."If undue influence, coercive control, or other forms of abuse are discovered only after MAID has been provided, no remedy can restore the person’s life," DJC adds.Instead they recommend the law require a legal assessment before MAiD is administered under this type of request.Providing an "independent voice before death.".According to a 2022 study, elder abuse is experienced by an estimated one in 10 older Canadians.This, DJC highlights, might be a conservative estimate "as fear of reprisal, stigma, dependence on the abuser, and other barriers prevent many victims from reporting abuse, allowing cases to go unnoticed.""Isolation, loneliness, ageism, and feelings of being a burden can further compromise a person’s ability to protect their own interests."DJC suggests that these outside influences can colour an advance request, as illustrated by the Health Canada 2024 annual MAiD report..This report revealed nearly half of MAiD recipients experienced feeling like a perceived burden on their friends, family, or caregivers."Isolation or loneliness was reported as a source of suffering for 21.9 percent of Track 1 recipients and 44.7 percent of Track 2 recipients."They stress "An advance request may reflect coercion or the exploitation of dependency, whether at the time the request is made or when administration is later considered."Even less visible than this, individuals could be living under coercive control, leaving a person gradually feeling "controlled, manipulated, intimidated, isolated, vulnerable, and dangerously dependent," eventually making a person feel like they're out of options. .A survey conducted of Greater Vancouver-area dementia care clinicians found 97% of respondents were concerned about enacting advance MAiD requests.This included reservations surrounding "how clinicians would protect the person’s interests in the future, navigate conflicts, administer MAID to someone lacking capacity, and identify red flags around coercion." DJC advances the solution of a legal assessment, either involving a lawyer or a mandatory judicial approval."Rather than repeat the clinical assessment, the lawyer would bring an independent legal perspective to the circumstances," pointed out DJC..Right now, the Criminal Code requires almost all MAiD patients to give their consent prior to receiving euthanasia, though these types of advance MAiD requests have been legal in Quebec since 2024 for individuals with diseases like dementia.As reported by Canadian Affairs, Justice Minister Sean Fraser has stated this legislation is currently being drafted and will be introduced in the coming weeks. Fraser has stated that making this amendment to MAiD's consent rules is not an attempt to tell provinces how to provide health care; instead, it is so doctors who provide MAiD according to advance requests are "not treated like criminals."
