When it comes to medically assisted dying, critics say Canada has left people with mental illness behind
CBC Docs | Posted: October 30, 2024 8:55 PM | Last Updated: November 5
Canada is one of a handful of countries where it is legal for individuals to seek out medical assistance in dying (MAID) if they are terminally ill or intolerably suffering — just not if this suffering is solely caused by a mental disorder.
In 2021, the Senate passed a bill that would expand access to MAID to people with grievous and incurable mental illnesses beginning in March 2023. However, before it came into effect, the government announced a one-year delay.
In 2024, the expansion was delayed again, this time until 2027.
Over the years, medical practitioners, advocates and professional bodies have characterized this exclusion as discriminatory.
"People with mental disorders are not treated the same as people with physical disorders and haven't been," says Helen Long, the CEO of Dying with Dignity Canada in the new documentary No Way to Die. "There's an invisibleness to the disorders, but also, I think, to the suffering."
No Way to Die follows the journey of Savannah Meadows and Jane Hunter, two individuals with mental illnesses who want to apply for MAID as soon as it becomes available to them.
Savannah has been struggling with behavioural problems since she was a child, and has spent 40 years looking for peace from the torment of violent thoughts and depression. Jane is a 75-year-old who feels she is nearing the end of her lifelong journey to find relief from complex PTSD and depression.
Access to MAID for mental illness is a contentious issue in the political and the medical spheres, drawing sharp criticism from its opponents.
In archival footage shown in the film, one Canadian politician expresses concern about "people seeking MAID because they can't get the psychiatric care they need," while foreign pundits critique Canada's legalization of assisted dying in the first place.
But as the debate rages, and eligibility dates get pushed back, Jane and Savannah are left feeling like they're running out of resiliency — and running out of options.
"I'm at the point where it's been too much for too long," Savannah says in the documentary. "I feel I've given it a lifetime of fighting, [a] lifetime of trying all these different things, and now the pain is … just too overwhelming. It's crushing me. I've tried everything I can, and it's at the point where it's just … it's broken me."
How to watch No Way to Die:
The documentary is now streaming on CBC Gem and the CBC Docs YouTube channel.
If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:
- Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988
- Talk Suicide Canada: Call 1-833-456-4566 (or 1-866-277-3553 in Quebec) or text 45645 (text available from 4 p.m. to midnight ET)
- Kids Help Phone: Call 1-800-668-6868, text CONNECT to 686868 or access live chat counselling online (chat available from 7 p.m. to midnight ET)
- Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a local crisis centre
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: This guide outlines what to do if someone you care about is thinking about suicide