Justice Minister Sean Fraser said the government will introduce a bill this autumn to exclude mental illness as the sole ground for medical assistance in dying, and to allow some advance requests.
Canada's justice minister, Sean Fraser, said on Wednesday the government will introduce legislation this autumn to exclude mental illness as the sole reason for medical assistance in dying, Reuters reported from Toronto. A parliamentary committee made a similar recommendation in June.
Fraser said he did not expect further restrictions on the existing law, which Reuters described as one of the world's more permissive assisted-dying regimes. The bill would also allow advance requests from people who want the procedure if they later lose capacity, including in dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
The government plans to amend the Criminal Code so doctors who follow the criteria are not prosecuted. Fraser said euthanasia would be available only in provinces that legislate access for people with incurable illness and intolerable suffering, and that set rigorous safeguards.
Dying with Dignity has previously called the exclusion of mental illness a breach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is involved in lawsuits against the government, Reuters reported.
The announcement is a plan to legislate, not a passed statute. No bill number was included in the dispatch.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Sean Fraser said he did not anticipate further restrictions beyond the mental-illness exclusion.
- Dying with Dignity has described that exclusion as a Charter breach.