PARIS: France’s parliament on Monday started debating a deeply controversial right-to-die bill backed by President Emmanuel Macron, who has made it a flagship reform of his second term.If the bill becomes law at the end of discussions likely to last for more than a year it will bring France closer in line with its European … Read more
Last week Paola Marra arrived in Zurich for the last journey she would ever make. She was in the final months of her life with stage-four bowel cancer and had an appointment with Dignitas for an assisted death. She had gone alone, partly because she wanted peace in her final moments, but also because of … Read more
Canada’s justice minister is rejecting charges that the federal government is perpetuating mental-illness stereotypes by delaying a planned expansion of medical assistance in dying. Arif Virani says allowing access to an assisted death solely on the basis of a mental disorder is a complex endeavour — and that’s the only reason for the delay. The … Read more
The Liberals have delayed expanding medical assistance in dying for mental illness until after the next election. But if Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wins, he says he will scrap the plan altogether. “We will revoke (an expansion) entirely,” Poilievre said at a news conference Thursday in Vancouver after the Trudeau government punted the move until … Read more
Canada is “not ready” to expand eligibility for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to people with mental health as their sole medical condition, Health Minister Mark Holland said Monday. Holland said the government agrees with a joint parliamentary committee report released earlier Monday that reached the same conclusion, and that assisted death should only be … Read more
A grieving husband who watched his beloved wife suffocate to death over four days has “wholeheartedly” backed our assisted dying petition as it nears 80,000 signatures. Warwick Jackson, 63, is haunted by the memory of Ann’s final days spent gasping for breath and begging for help to end her agony. He said: “One time when … Read more
As MPs, we have failed to listen to the British public on assisted dying. Our colleagues in Australia and New Zealand, by contrast, have listened to the voices of their constituents, examined the evidence, and passed laws that are safe, compassionate and popular Now it is time for us to do the same. We have … Read more
On each anniversary of his patient Nicole’s death, Dr Cameron McLaren receives a message from her mother, thanking him for helping her to die. The 33-year-old woman had a soft tissue cancer that left her weak and unable to swallow. The weight of a duvet was enough to cause intense pain. After Nicole made a … Read more
The federal government is considering whether to pause its original plan to broaden the rules that govern medically assisted dying so they include patients whose only underlying condition is a mental disorder. “We’re weighing our options,” Justice Minister Arif Virani said Thursday. It would be the second time the federal Liberals have hit pause on … Read more
Choosing the date when she was going to die allowed Maya Zetlin to relax, enjoy time with her family and plan her funeral. She picked out songs and yellow roses to lay on her casket, then left instructions for loved ones to wear bright colours. The 75-year-old had decided to have a medically assisted death … Read more