Canada is now one of the countries which allows physician assisted death. The law was eventually approved after the Canadian lawmakers were able to pass the legislation in having the physician assisted death legalized.
The bill was introduced in April, wherein it was mentioned that the physician assisted dying has specific grounds to distinguish it from suicide. According to NPR, there are specific grounds when it comes to allowing the individual to apply for a physician assisted death.
The bill was introduced on April 14, 2016, and is now being finalized. It was mentioned that the patient who would appeal for a physician assisted death should be over 18 years or older. The patient should also be eligible for any government funded health care, which is one of the top requirements for the physician assisted death.
Senate votes to reject Sen. Joyal’s amend. to Sen. Harder’s motion: 28 yeas, 42 nays, 3 abstentions #SenCA #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/1HEVxKLNgw
— Senate of Canada (@SenateCA) June 17, 2016
Not only should the person be 18 years old or older, but he/she needs to be mentally stable as well. The patient should have an incurable disease, and should have a "reasonable foreseeable" natural death. The patient who is under an advised state of an irreversible condition which bought him/her to intolerable suffering is also eligible to make an appeal for a physician assisted death.
According to CBC, the c-14: Medical Assistance in Dying is officially approved after the having a thorough run in regards to the qualification. The approval of the bill however is still being questioned as the eligibility sparked concerns.
It was mentioned that if the qualifications would be expanded, there are tendencies wherein the individual suffering from PTSD, trauma due to sexual harassment and a spinal cord injury can also make an appeal for the physician assisted death. Canada is only one out of more than five countries that allow a physician assisted death, which include the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the United States.
