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.

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 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.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms: Undermining Parliamentary Sovereignty and Federalism

Federalism-E ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-65
Author(s):  
Joshua Nahmias
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Canadian Charter ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Purse ◽  
Parliamentary Sovereignty ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Core Concepts

This article explores the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its role in altering two core concepts of Canadian democracy: parliamentary sovereignty and federalism. The author argues that the Charter has undermined these concepts through the empowerment of Canada's judiciary, namely the Supreme Court of Canada. The article explores ways in which the powers of parliament have been superseded by the courts, specifically through the establishment of "charter proofing," parliament's loss of power over the "public purse," and the erosion of the provinces' policy autonomy. Ultimately, the article seeks to demonstrate that the Charter has "legalized" Canadian politics to the extent that the judiciary unwieldy an unacceptable amount of power in Canada's political environment. Cases explored in the essay include Morgentaler v. the Queen (1988), Schachter v. Canada (1992), and Attorney-General of Québec v. Association of Québec Protestant School Boards (1984).

scholarly journals The Truth About Canadian Judicial Activism

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (1, 2 & 3) ◽  
pp. 2006
Author(s):  
Sanjeev Anand
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Judicial Activism ◽  
State Action ◽  
The People ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Recent Conference ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
Societal Preferences

The topic of judicial activism in Canada generates considerable disagreement. At a recent conference, retired Supreme Court of Canada Justice John Major stated that “there is no such thing as judicial activism in Canada.”1 In 2001, speaking in his capacity as the Canadian Alliance’s Justice critic, the current federal Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Vic Toews, told Parliament that the Supreme Court has “engaged in a frenzy of constitutional experimentation that resulted in the judiciary substituting its legal and societal preferences for those made by the elected representatives of the people . . . [producing] legal and constitutional anarchy.”2 One prominent constitutional scholar fears that the debate on judicial activism in Canada has begun to produce excessive judicial deference that allows legislatures and officials to act without scrutiny by the judiciary concerning the effects of state action on vulnerable minorities.

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 Autonomy and Beneficence in Assisted Dying in Canada: The Eligibility of Mature Minors

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Guichon ◽  
Farah Mohamed ◽  
Kim Clarke ◽  
Ian Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Medical Treatment ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
Attorney General ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Physician Assisted Dying ◽  
Consent To Medical Treatment

In Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), the Supreme Court of Canada legalized physicianassisted dying. Responding to this decision, Parliament passed Bill C-14, which provides that adults who suffer intolerably from a terminal medical condition may seek assistance to end their lives. Notably, the legislation does not grant access to mature minors. This article considers whether access should be granted, examining the Canadian assisted dying framework, situations of minors who might seek assisted dying, the law concerning mature minor consent to medical treatment, and other jurisdictions that grant access to mature minors. It argues that the ethical principles of autonomy and beneficence that underlie the Carter decision should be used to determine whether mature minors should have access to physician-assisted dying.

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