Below, a link to an article I wrote for Policy magazine on the fraught issue of medical aid in dying. The piece was written before Bill C-14 was proclaimed in force on June 16, 2016. But the related issues have by no means disappeared. In fact, a fresh court challenge was launched against the new provisions shortly after it came into effect. In other words, stay tuned.
“The debate over physician-assisted dying is shot through with impossibly difficult questions. How can such an irreversible act be sufficiently safeguarded against hasty or compromised decision-making? How can society authorize suicide in one context while seeking to prevent it in others? Will going down this path make us more callous towards those who are profoundly vulnerable? What will be its effect on the health profession?
If ever a topic warranted the label of “existential”, it is this one.”