by Frank Bergman
Saskatchewan is moving to draw a line against Canada’s rapidly expanding euthanasia regime by banning Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) for children, patients suffering solely from mental illness, and people unable to make their own healthcare decisions.
The new legislation, introduced by Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government, comes as Canadians face growing alarm over the country’s normalization of state-sanctioned death.
The Medical Assistance in Dying Additional Safeguards Act would impose three major limits on euthanasia in Saskatchewan.
The bill would ban MAiD for anyone under 18.
It would bar euthanasia when mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition.
It would also prohibit euthanasia for patients who lack the capacity to make their own medical decisions.
Saskatchewan Seeks to Protect Vulnerable Patients
“The Medical Assistance in Dying Additional Safeguards Act will help ensure that vulnerable individuals receive appropriate care, treatment and supports while maintaining a safe and responsible MAiD program,” the Saskatchewan government said.
Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said the legislation would provide additional protections for vulnerable citizens and medical professionals.
“This legislation establishes additional safeguards, particularly around young people, mental illness, and capacity, and strengthens protections for health care professionals who choose not to participate in MAID,” Cockrill said.
The legislation would also strengthen conscience protections for doctors, nurses, and other health-care professionals who refuse to participate in euthanasia.
Although Canada’s MAiD laws are federally regulated, provinces administer health care and can establish additional protections and restrictions.
Saskatchewan’s proposal would place clear limits on who can be approved for death under the government’s assisted-suicide system.
Federal Liberals Advance Advance-Request Euthanasia Bill
The provincial safeguards stand in sharp contrast to a federal Liberal proposal that would permit euthanasia through advance requests.
Bill C-41, known as the “safeguards act,” would allow a patient to make an advance request for euthanasia.