Ottawa – Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is a process that allows someone who is found eligible to be able to receive assistance from a medical practitioner in ending their life. The federal Criminal Code of Canada permits this to take place only under very specific circumstances and rules. Anyone requesting this service must meet specific eligibility criteria to receive medical assistance in dying. Any medical practitioner who administers an assisted death to someone must satisfy certain safeguards first.
Only medical practitioners are permitted to conduct assessments and to provide medical assistance in dying. This can be a physician or a nurse practitioner, where provinces and territories allow.
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There are 2 methods of medical assistance in dying available in Canada.
Method 1: a physician or nurse practitioner directly administers a substance that causes death, such as an injection of a drug. This is sometimes called clinician-administered medical assistance in dying.
Method 2: a physician or nurse practitioner provides or prescribes a drug that the eligible person takes themselves, in order to bring about their own death. This is sometimes called self-administered medical assistance in dying.
Clinical guidelines and practices outline which drugs to use, and are established by:
- provinces and territories
- organizations that regulate the practice of medicine
Many of the drugs commonly used for this procedure are already available in Canada. Health care providers usually prescribe them at lower dosages for common purposes, such as:
- nausea
- pain control
- anaesthesia
As the regulator of drug products, Health Canada is working with partners to help support access to drugs for medical assistance in dying.
Eligibility
To be eligible for medical assistance in dying, you must meet all the following criteria. You must:
- be eligible for health services funded by a province or territory, or the federal government
- You may also be eligible if you meet your province or territory’s minimum period of residence or waiting period.
- be at least 18 years old and mentally competent
- This means being capable of making health care decisions for yourself.
- have a grievous and irremediable medical condition
- make a voluntary request for medical assistance in dying
- The request cannot be the result of outside pressure or influence.
- give informed consent to receive medical assistance in dying
Generally, visitors to Canada are not eligible for medical assistance in dying.