MAID and mental illness

AI summary

The petition, supporting MP Tamara Jansen’s Bill C-218, asks the House of Commons to pass a law to ensure that a mental illness alone is not treated as a grievous and irremediable condition for the purposes of medical assistance in dying (MAID). Petitioners say the government plans to expand MAID to include cases where the sole underlying condition is a mental illness, argue that mental illnesses can be treatable and that irremediability is difficult to predict, and express concern about access to mental-health care and risks to vulnerable people and families; no government response is included in the petition record.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the House of Commons In support of M.P. Tamara Jansen's Private Members Bill C-218, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (medical assistance in dying). Whereas: The Government of Canada intends to expand medical assistance in dying (MAID) to individuals whose only medical condition is a mental illness; Mental illness is treatable, recovery is possible, and experts agree it is currently impossible to predict when a mental illness is truly irremediable; Expanding MAID in this way risks suggesting that some lives are beyond saving, while many Canadians still struggle to access timely and effective mental health care; Public concern is high, with many Canadians believing that treatment options should come before MAID and fearing that vulnerable individuals may seek MAID due to lack of care; Families and communities are concerned that people who could recover through treatment and support may instead lose their lives; Bill C-218, the Right to Recover Act, would amend the Criminal Code to ensure that mental illness alone is not considered a grievous and irremediable condition for the purposes of MAID. Therefore, we, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Pass Bill C-218 to stop the expansion of MAID to those whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness.

Government response

No government response is available yet.