When the Canadian government passed legislation nearly a decade ago to approve medical assistance in dying (MAID), it was an exercise in compassion. A competent Canadian adult suffering from an “irremediable medical condition,” whose death was “reasonably foreseeable,” would no longer have to suffer; MAID would offer a way to avoid the unnecessary pain, the loss of dignity and the loss of autonomy that often comes with natural death. In narrow circumstances and with strict safeguards, MAID could expedite a process that was already occurring.
