By Maria Cheng
OTTAWA, June 17 (Reuters) – Euthanasia should not be allowed for people seeking to be killed by medical professionals exclusively for mental illness reasons, according to a report published on Wednesday by a Canadian parliamentary committee.
The report advises the Canadian government to amend its Criminal Code “to indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying,” saying the conditions needed for “safe and equitable implementation” cannot currently be met.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser said his team would take the next few weeks to digest the report before Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government decides on next steps.
Canada has among the world’s most liberal programs for euthanasia. It was legalized in 2016 and allowed people who were fatally ill to be killed by injection by a doctor or nurse at their request. In 2021, Canada broadened its euthanasia law to include people who were not terminally ill, but who had an incurable condition or a disability.
Euthanasia is legal, including for mental illness reasons, in countries including Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain, but has proven divisive.
Canada most recently pushed back the timeline for allowing people with mental illness to seek euthanasia to next March. The committee’s recommendation will likely delay that further.
In recent years, doctors and provincial authorities have reported euthanasia deaths among people seeking the procedure because they were poor, homeless or unable to seek the government support they needed to live.
A recent Angus Reid poll found Canadians’ support for euthanasia for people who are terminally ill is close to 80%, but it drops to 43% for euthanasia for mental illness alone.
GOVERNMENT FACES TWO MAJOR LAWSUITS
Trudo Lemmens, chair of health law and policy at the University of Toronto, called the parliamentary committee’s report “a wise recommendation that reflects the evidence.” Lemmens, who previously sat on a euthanasia review committee in Ontario, said that because it is impossible to predict which people might recover from mental illnesses, it is difficult for such people to meet Canada’s criteria, which requires patients to have an “irremediable” condition.
The Canadian government is facing two major lawsuits involving euthanasia, referred to in Canada as medical assistance in dying, or MAID. Disability groups argue that allowing euthanasia for people who are not dying but have disabilities is discriminatory and may pressure vulnerable people to seek the procedure. Another lawsuit filed by Dying With Dignity, an advocacy group that supports expanding assisted dying, and others contend that preventing people with mental illnesses from seeking euthanasia violates their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Carney has not publicly voiced an opinion on euthanasia, saying he likes to take “informed positions” and would wait for the parliamentary report.
Helen Long, CEO of Dying With Dignity Canada, said in a statement she hopes the voices of people with severe mental illness will be heard as the government moves forward.
(Reporting by Maria ChengEditing by Rod Nickel)
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