scholarly journals Considering medical assistance in dying for minors: the complexities of children’s voices

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 399-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harprit Kaur Singh ◽  
Mary Ellen Macdonald ◽  
Franco A Carnevale
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Childhood Studies ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
Children’S Agency ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Children’S Voices

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation in Canada followed much deliberation after the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling in Carter v. Canada. Included in this deliberation was the Special Joint Committee on Physician Assisted Dying’s recommendation to extend MAID legislation beyond the inclusion of adults to mature minors. Children's agency is a construct advanced within childhood studies literature which entails eliciting children’s voices in order to recognise children as active participants in constructing their own childhoods. Using this framework, we consider the possible extension of MAID legislation to most minors. We highlight important questions regarding how insights from children’s voices could be mobilised in the life or death context of MAID. We conclude that children’s voices have the potential to help determine their eligibility for MAID; however, incorporating children's voices in the context of MAID requires careful consideration due to the complexity of voice.

How to Legalize Medically Assisted Death in a Free and Democratic Society

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-368
Author(s):  
ALISTER BROWNE ◽  
J.S. RUSSELL
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Assisted Death ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Way

AbstractIn 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the criminal law prohibiting physician assisted death in Canada. In 2016, Parliament passed legislation to allow what it called ‘medical assistance in dying (MAID).’ The authors first describe the arguments the Court used to strike down the law, and then argue that MAID as legalized in Bill C-14 is based on principles that are incompatible with a free and democratic society, prohibits assistance in dying that should be permitted, and makes access to medically-assisted death unnecessarily difficult. They then propose a version of MAID legislation (‘Ideal MAID’) that gives proponents and opponents of MAID everything they can legitimately want, contend that it is the only way to legalize MAID that is compatible with a free and democratic society, and conclude that it is the way to legalize MAID in Canada and other similarly free and democratic societies.

Biopower, juridical power and the afterlife of rights: Medical assistance in dying and the Supreme Court of Canada

2020 ◽  
pp. 136248062092832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Young
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Regulatory Scheme ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Points Of Resistance

This article considers how different modalities of power emerge in medical assistance in dying (MAID) cases, particularly with respect to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Carter v. Canada (A.G.) [2015]. While juridical rationalities cast the issue of MAID in terms of individual rights, Carter and subsequent legislation distinguishes MAID from assisted suicide through the creation of a regulatory scheme, so that individuals seeking MAID continue to be governed by medical power. This may seem to confirm arguments that the image of subjectivity evoked by juridical discourses simply results in the reinforcement of existing power relations. However, this article argues that it is the very regulatory scheme governing MAID that provides points of resistance, giving the individual opportunities to challenge medical power in ways that may destabilize power relations.

scholarly journals Medical Assistance in Dying: Journey to Medical Self-Determination

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose M. Carter, Q.C. ◽  
Brandyn Rodgerson
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Important Change ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
The Supreme Court

In 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the laws criminalizing medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General). In this article, the authors discuss the historical prohibition on MAID in Canada, the important change in the law represented by Carter, and Bill C-14, the federal government’s legislative response to the Supreme Court’s verdict. The authors explain the new MAID regime created by Bill C-14 and discuss the various issues raised by the new legislation, including the possibly unconstitutional exclusion of patients not suffering from terminal conditions, problems of certainty in determining when death is “reasonably foreseeable,” problems related to patients’ mental capacity, and the need for effective data collection.

Continuing the conversation about medical assistance in dying

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carey DeMichelis ◽  
Randi Zlotnik Shaul ◽  
Adam Rapoport
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Ethical Justification ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Legal Right

In their summary and critique, Gamble, Gamble, and Pruski mischaracterise both the central arguments and the primary objectives of our original paper. Our paper does not provide an ethical justification for paediatric Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) by comparing it with other end of life care options. In fact, it does not offer arguments about the permissibility of MAID for capable young people at all. Instead, our paper focuses on the ethical questions that emerged as we worked to develop a policy for responding to MAID requests at our tertiary paediatric institution. Following the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decriminalisation of MAID, our hospital needed to answer immediate on-the-ground questions such as: ‘What are we going to do if an 18-year-old patient in our care requested MAID today, as is now their legal right? How should we protect their privacy? What is the best way to ensure patients are informed when making these decisions?’ On these important questions, Gamble, Gamble, and Pruskiare silent.

scholarly journals Objection de conscience et aide médicale à mourir : une étude qualitative auprès de médecins québécois

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-134
Author(s):  
Isabelle Dumont ◽  
Jocelyn Maclure
Keyword(s):  
Medical Assistance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
Incurable Illness ◽  
Future Selves ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Aide Médicale À Mourir ◽  
To Receive

Patients in Quebec can legally obtain medical assistance in dying (MAID) if they are able to give informed consent, have a serious and incurable illness, are at the end of their lives and are in a situation of unbearable suffering. Since the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2015 Carter decision, access to MAID, under certain conditions, has become a constitutional right. Quebec physicians are now likely to receive requests for MAID from their patients. The Quebec and Canadian laws recognize a physician’s right to conscientious objection, but this right is contested both in the medical ethics literature and in the public sphere. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study conducted with twenty Quebec physicians who did not integrate MAID into their medical practice, either because they were opposed to or deeply ambivalent about MAID. The interviews aimed to explore the reasons – religious and secular – for opposition to or ambivalence towards MAID. The secular reasons given by participants were grouped into four main categories: 1) the ends of medicine and professional identity, 2) the philosophy of palliative medicine and resource allocation in palliative care, 3) benevolent paternalism, the “good death”, and the interests of future selves, 4) the risk of a slippery slope and the protection of vulnerable people.

scholarly journals Examining the Foreseeable: Assisted Suicide as a Herald of Changing Moralities

2001 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joane Martel
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Assisted Suicide ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Moral Regulation ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Criminal Charges

After her intense battle for the decriminalization of assisted suicide in the Supreme Court of Canada, Sue Rodriguez committed suicide with medical assistance in 1994. Following her suicide, government and law representatives remained silent and no criminal charges were ever brought against the person(s) who presumably assisted Ms Rodriguez in her death. This apparent non-intervention of criminal law is examined in view of the useful role that the Rodriguez event may have played in a possible shift in the dominant morality. It is argued that the Rodriguez assisted suicide may have been a useful 'crime' (in the Durkheimian sense) in that it brought to the fore the possibility that social conditions - which made the 'crime' possible - may no longer be in harmony with conventional morality. Similarly to Socrates' crime, the Rodriguez case can be seen as an anticipation of a new morality. It can be analysed as a prelude to alterations, as directly preparing the way for changes in the dominant morality. The role of criminal law as a preferred mode of moral regulation is also examined in relation to the moral demands and expectations that arose during as well as after the judicial saga.

scholarly journals Canadian French and English newspapers’ portrayals of physicians’ role and medical assistance in dying (MAiD) from 1972 to 2016: a qualitative textual analysis

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e020369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen T Crumley ◽  
Caroline Sheppard ◽  
Chantelle Bowden ◽  
Gregg Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Canadian French ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
French And English ◽  
Issue Attention

ObjectiveTo examine how Canadian newspapers portrayed physicians’ role and medical assistance in dying (MAiD).DesignQualitative textual analysis.SettingOnline and print articles from Canadian French and English newspapers.Participants813 newspaper articles published from 1972 to 2016.ResultsKey Canadian events defined five eras. From 1972 to 1990, newspapers portrayed physician’s MAiD role as a social issue by reporting supportive public opinion polls and revealing it was already occurring in secret. From 1991 to 1995, newspapers discussed legal aspects of physicians’ MAiD role including Rodriguez’ Supreme Court of Canada appeal and Federal government Bills. From 1996 to 2004, journalists discussed professional aspects of physicians’ MAiD role and the growing split between palliative care and physicians who supported MAiD. They also reported on court cases against Canadian physicians, Dr Kevorkian and suffering patients who could not receive MAiD. From 2005 to 2013, newspapers described political aspects including the tabling of MAiD legislation to change physicians’ role. Lastly, from 2014 to 2016, newspapers again portrayed legal aspects of physicians’ role as the Supreme Court of Canada was anticipated to legalise MAiD and the Québec government passed its own legislation. Remarkably, newspapers kept attention to MAiD over 44 years before it became legal. Articles generally reflected Canadians’ acceptance of MAiD and physicians were typically portrayed as opposing it, but not all did.ConclusionsNewspaper portrayals of physicians’ MAiD role discussed public opinion, politicians’ activities and professional and legal aspects. Portrayals followed the issue-attention cycle through three of five stages: 1) preproblem, 2) alarmed discovery and euphoric enthusiasm and 3) realising the cost of significant progress.

scholarly journals The Ethics of Dying: Deciphering Pandemic-Resultant Pressures That Influence Elderly Patients’ Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Decisions

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8819
Author(s):  
Masud Khawaja ◽  
Abdullah Khawaja
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Elderly Patients ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Mental Health Intervention ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Medical Assistance ◽  
Medical Assistance In Dying ◽  
Current Context ◽  
Vulnerable Elderly

The objective of medicine is to provide humans with the best possible health outcomes from the beginning to the end of life. If the continuation of life becomes unbearable, some may evaluate procedures to end their lives prematurely. One such procedure is Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), and it is hotly contended in many spheres of society. From legal to personal perspectives, there are strong arguments for its implementation and prohibition. This article intends to add to this rich discourse by exploring MAiD in the context of our current pandemic-ridden society as new pressures from social isolation and guilt threaten the autonomy of vulnerable elderly patients. Although autonomy is of chief importance, variables within our current context undermine otherwise independent decisions. Many older individuals are isolated from their social network, resulting in a decline in their mental health. Individuals in such a state are more likely to request a MAiD outcome. Furthermore, overwhelmed healthcare systems may not adequately address this state, which would normally have prompted a mental health intervention. The future of MAiD is far from settled and careful consideration must be given as new contexts come to light, such as those outlined in this paper.

Malpractice & Negligence: Cal. Supreme Court Clarifies Negligence Provisions under State’s Elder Abuse Act

1999 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-203
Author(s):  
Kendra Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Elder Abuse ◽  
Skilled Nursing Facility ◽  
Pressure Sores ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Nursing Facility ◽  
Skilled Nursing ◽  
The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of California held, in Delaney v. Baker, 82 Cal. Rptr. 2d 610 (1999), that the heightened remedies available under the Elder Abuse Act (Act), Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 15657,15657.2 (West 1998), apply to health care providers who engage in reckless neglect of an elder adult. The court interpreted two sections of the Act: (1) section 15657, which provides for enhanced remedies for reckless neglect; and (2) section 15657.2, which limits recovery for actions based on “professional negligence.” The court held that reckless neglect is distinct from professional negligence and therefore the restrictions on remedies against health care providers for professional negligence are inapplicable.Kay Delaney sued Meadowood, a skilled nursing facility (SNF), after a resident, her mother, died. Evidence at trial indicated that Rose Wallien, the decedent, was left lying in her own urine and feces for extended periods of time and had stage I11 and IV pressure sores on her ankles, feet, and buttocks at the time of her death.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document