Cross Country Checkup

Should medical assistance in dying be an option when the diagnosis isn't terminal?

This week, a bill proposes to widen eligibility for medical assistance in dying (MAID), including removing the requirement that someone's natural death be "reasonably foreseeable."
The government's proposed changes would also permit access to MAID to someone whose death is reasonably foreseeable — but who has lost the capacity to consent since deciding to do so, through an agreement with a medical or nurse practitioner. (Richard Lyons/Shutterstock)

This week, a bill proposes to widen eligibility for medical assistance in dying (MAID).

It would remove the requirement that someone's natural death be "reasonably foreseeable." This means people with serious, but non-life threatening conditions — like severe arthritis or cerebral palsy — would be able to apply.

Our question for this week: Should MAID be an option when the diagnosis isn't terminal?

Also, Dr. Bruce Aylward joins the show for our Ask Me Anything segment. Aylward led the World Health Organization's COVID-19 mission to China.