[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Those who have only the best intentions for their family may be frustrated at the legal challenges involved in these sorts of issues. But once money is involved (ie inheritance), some people have different motivations. And our laws have to take that into account. If it was easy to secure MAID for parents/grandparents who suffer from dementia, there would absolutely be people who used it to get their hands on homes and savings.



Not true. There are legitimate ethical and health care issues involved. Not just the inheritance-greed I mentioned above, but how to handle mental health and capacity to make decisions, or reach medical consensus on whether a condition is treatable or not. A case involving an 80 year old with terminal cancer is easy. A case involving a 20 year old suffering from depression or the side-effects of medication is not so easy.

There's also the issue how easy it can be to get around safeguards. Some countries limit the number of doctor referrals you can seek, while Canada doesn't. Which creates problems like the one cited in this story. A woman suffering from side-effects from medication was turned down for MAID by several doctors who judged her condition would resolve itself. So she sought out a MAID advocate who rarely says no, and only court intervention by her desperate husband prevented the procedure.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...h-judge-ruling

Thing is, the MAID process is not easy and has plenty of safeguards. This government action removes the choice entirely, rather than making incremental improvements, if those improvements can be identified. Dementia seems to me to be the clearest case of a mental condition that destroys quality of life and isn’t going to get better. I feel those suffering should have that option while they are still capable of choosing. This is the choice my dad made, and I am thankful to the system and the doctors that helped make that happen.