The common law crimes of attempting suicide and of assisting suicide were codified in Canada when Parliament enacted the Criminal Code in 1892. However, in 1972, Parliament repealed the offence of attempting suicide from the Criminal Code.
A legal deterrent was deemed unnecessary, marking a significant change in policy. Despite this, the prohibition on assisting suicide persisted as section 241 of the Criminal Code, known as "Counselling or aiding suicide."
A new phase began on June 17, 2016, when federal legislation introduced regulations for medical assistance for dying in Canada. As per this legislation, medical assistance for dying became legal subject to meeting eligibility criteria and procedural safeguards.
Under the stated legislation, receiving medical assistance in dying is considered legal if specific eligibility criteria and procedural safeguards are duly met.
To be eligible, an individual has to meet conditions such as being eligible for health services funded by a Canadian government, being at least 18 years of age and capable of making health-related decisions.
Their request for medical assistance in dying must be voluntary, and free of external pressure. Lastly, they should provide informed consent to receive medical assistance in dying after being informed of all available means to alleviate their suffering, including palliative care.
Firstly, they must have a serious and incurable illness, disease, or disability.
Secondly, they must be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability. An enduring physical or psychological suffering that is intolerable to them and cannot be relieved under conditions that they find acceptable, due to that illness, disease, or disability, or that state of decline, is the third condition.
The last criterion is that their natural death has become reasonably foreseeable, taking into account all of their medical circumstances, without a specific prognosis necessarily having been made regarding the specific length of time they have remaining.
To ensure that the process is carried out ethically and correctly, a number of key procedural safeguards have been established. To start, before a medical practitioner provides a person with medical assistance in dying, they must be of the opinion that the person meets all the established criteria.
Next, they must ensure that the person’s request for medical assistance in dying was made in writing and was signed and dated by the person or by another person under specific conditions after they have been informed that they have a grievous and irremediable medical condition.
Moreover, the practitioner must confirm that the request was signed and dated by the person, or by another person under particular conditions, before two independent witnesses who then also signed and dated the request, and that the person has been informed that they can withdraw their request at any time and in any manner.
Another expected safeguard is that another medical practitioner or nurse has provided a written opinion confirming that the person meets all of the eligibility criteria. The practitioner must also confirm that they and the other medical practitioner or nurse referred to earlier are independent.
Additionally, there should be at least 10 clear days between the day on which the request was signed by or on behalf of the person and the day on which the medical assistance in dying is provided. This period can be shorter if both practitioners are of the opinion that the person’s death or the loss of their capacity to provide informed consent is imminent.
Finally, just before providing medical assistance in dying, the practitioner must give the person an opportunity to withdraw their request and ensure that the person gives express consent to receive medical assistance in dying. If the person has difficulty communicating, the practitioner must take all necessary measures to provide a reliable means by which the person can understand the given information and communicate their decision.
