Married with Children character Peggy Bundy91裸聊视频檚 invitation to her husband Al: 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 gonna take a shower. Do you care to join me?91裸聊视频�. Al91裸聊视频檚 response: 91裸聊视频淗oney, there91裸聊视频檚 a gun in the footlocker in the garage. If I ever say no to that question, I want you to use it on me.91裸聊视频�
Have you considered the criteria you would use for wanting your life to end?
I suspect most of us will tolerate life just fine after a loss of libido.
I also suspect that most of us hope death takes us before we reach a stage of decline with terminal cancer where we91裸聊视频檙e suffering uncontrollable pain and loss of bodily functions.
And before the stage of a neurodegenerative disease where we are no longer able to breathe.
Some would accept that suffering believing it to be God91裸聊视频檚 will, a valid personal choice.
My choice will be for medical assistance in dying (MAID) to avoid that suffering.
Until 2016, vulnerable folks facing those horrible realities did not have that choice.
The only way they could end their suffering was to do it themselves.
Left to a patient91裸聊视频檚 own devices, suicide can be horrific and inhumane for both the patient and their loved ones. Worse, it might have to be done prematurely, before they are ready to die, because waiting could leave them without the physical ability to follow through.
It took two hard fought legal battles to force the federal government to change the law to allow MAID. February 6, 2025 is the 10th anniversary of the unanimous decision of the panel of nine Justices of our Supreme Court of Canada in the seminal case of Carter v. Canada (AG), 2015 SCC 5, striking down the Criminal Code provision that got in the way of MAID.
Additional legal battles resulted in further improvements in our laws in 2021.
It is now the law in Canada that you can access a merciful and dignified end to your suffering.
There remains a hitch.
You must have the necessary cognitive capacity to access MAID.
Dementia is a feared degenerative condition of aging.
I fear losing my cognitive abilities more than I fear physical decline.
Dementia gradually erodes memory, personality, decision-making abilities as well as function.
At the time of initial diagnoses, I might be experiencing some frustration with subtle losses of mental capacity, but my quality of life will probably be excellent. I certainly wouldn91裸聊视频檛 be thinking about ending my life at that early point of my illness.
But I emphatically wish to have met my life91裸聊视频檚 end before my condition advances to the point that I no longer recognize my loved ones and I91裸聊视频檓 spending my days virtually comatose.
In June, 2023, Quebec law changed allowing Quebecers to make an advance request for medical assistance in dying if they91裸聊视频檝e been diagnosed with a serious and incurable illness that will lead to the lack of capacity to request MAID 91裸聊视频� an illness such as Alzheimer91裸聊视频檚 disease.
Their request must include a list of objective, observable manifestations of their illness that the patient would consider intolerable to the point of wanting a merciful death.
If it were me, I would include the following:
- Repeatedly failing to recognize close family members,
- Inability to communicate coherent thoughts or make simple decisions,
- Complete dependence on others for basic activities (eating, dressing, toileting, bathing), and
Quebec has protocols in place to ensure that a merciful death is provided only if:
- the patient is exhibiting the patient-chosen clinical manifestations of their illness,
- they are in a medical state of advanced, irreversible decline in capability, and
- the medical assessor believes that the person is experiencing enduring and unbearable suffering that cannot be relieved under conditions considered tolerable.
Quebec91裸聊视频檚 laws are not applicable in British Columbia. Properly, MAID laws are federal because they pertain to the Criminal Code of Canada. The federal government would need to change the laws to give these rights to all Canadians.
As a British Columbia, I would need to wait until my dementia condition progressed to the point of being in an advanced state of irreversible decline before I could get qualified for MAID.
By then, I might have already lost the required cognitive capacity and be completely deprived of a merciful end to my life.
I91裸聊视频檓 not alone in wanting those rights. According to a 2024 poll, 83% of Canadians support advance requests for MAID for a person diagnosed with a capacity-eroding grievous and irremediable medical condition who will eventually lose the ability to make decisions for themselves.
Not everyone would want to exercise these rights. They wouldn91裸聊视频檛 be forced on anyone. It will always be up to the individual to make that choice.
Health Canada is currently conducting a survey on the subject. I hope that our federal government will change the law giving all Canadians the same rights if those surveyed are overwhelmingly in favour of that change.
The survey started December 12th, 2024, and will close on February 14th, 2025.
A link to the survey can be found here: .
Please take the survey and spread the link to everyone in your sphere of influence encouraging them to do the same.
Paul Hergott
Lawyer Paul Hergott began writing as a columnist in January 2007. Achieving Justice, based on Paul91裸聊视频檚 personal injury practice at the time, focused on injury claims and road safety. It was published weekly for 13 陆 years until July 2020, when his busy legal practice no longer left time for writing.
Paul was able to pick up writing again in January 2024, After transitioning his practice to estate administration and management.
Paul91裸聊视频檚 intention is to write primarily about end of life and estate related matters, but he is very easily distracted by other topics.
You are encouraged to contact Paul directly at paul@hlaw.ca with legal questions and issues you would like him to write about.
