Quebec’s legislature has delivered a triple-whammy expansion of so-called medical aid in dying (MAiD) that includes obliging all palliative care facilities in the province to offer doctor-supplied end of life.
Newsroom (17/06/2023 Gaudium Press) On June 7, Quebec’s legislature passed Bill 11, which expands medical( aid in dying (MAiD) in the province. The bill requires all palliative care facilities to offer doctor-supplied end-of-life options, despite opposition from church leaders and groups opposed to MAiD such as Living With Dignity and the Physicians’ Alliance Against Euthanasia. The majority of the National Assembly voted in favour of the Act Respecting End of Life Care, with only two members voting against it and one abstention.
The amendments made by Bill 11 remove the requirement for imminent death as a condition for receiving MAiD and open eligibility to individuals with severe physical disabilities. Furthermore, within 24 months, individuals in the early stages of dementia or other conditions that affect their ability to provide informed consent will be able to access pre-arranged MAiD.
Quebec has been recognized as having the highest per capita rate of medicalized killing, with more people per capita opting for medical assistance in dying than anywhere else in the world. MAiD requests in the province have more than doubled from 1,774 in 2019-2020 to 3,663 in 2021-22.
Quebec’s Catholic bishops issued a statement last March reiterating their support for high-quality palliative care in the province, and their opposition to the expansion of MAiD.
“We do not agree that medical assistance in dying constitutes ‘health care.’ We are aware that, in the current context, our voice in this matter is practically inaudible. That being said, we hold that any action which intentionally induces the death of a human being is in fact a denial to provide him or her the potential end-of-life care that he or she required. Such intervention cannot be termed ‘care,’ ” the bishops wrote.
Bill 11 is a relaunch of Bill 38, which was put on hold at the end of the 2022 legislative session. Euthanasia has been available in Quebec since 2015.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Catholic Register