VANCOUVER – Medical assistance in dying (MAID) has been legal in Canada for nearly a decade but remains a relatively new frontier in medicine.
As seen with legislative changes and debates in this country and MAID’s burgeoning establishment around the world, parameters for this procedure are still being established.
Indeed, the United Kingdom parliament voted for the first time to pass a strict version of assisted dying in late November of this year.
Though that bill still needs to clear the House of Lords and parliamentary committees, it would have the U.K. joining a small group of nations that have codified this procedure.
With many questions being answered in real-time, Angus Reid Institute, in partnership with Cardus, asked Canadians to weigh in on several key debates around Canada’s MAID law.
In some jurisdictions, for example, doctors are prohibited from raising assisted dying with a patient unsolicited, to protect against undue influence.
Canadians offer divided views on this concern.
Asked whether this should be left solely up to the patient to mention, prohibiting the doctor from broaching the subject, 43 per cent say doctors should be free to use their discretion, while 40% say they should not be able to raise it unless a patient does first.
Potentially driving some of this concern is the fact that 41% worry patients may feel pressured to choose MAID if it is offered by a doctor. An identical number disagree that this is a potential issue.
This isn’t to say that Canadians are against MAID. As previous Angus Reid Institute research noted, support for the idea has risen through the years.
Indeed, four-in-five say any doctor should be required to refer a patient to another doctor to receive the procedure if they want it, regardless of the original doctor’s moral or ethical beliefs.
Further, three-quarters (73%) also say they have no concerns about receiving care from a doctor that performs MAID.
A link to the poll can be found at angusreid.org.
