Plans to expand one of the world’s most permissive assisted dying laws have been postponed by the Canadian government, reigniting debate about the country’s stance. Sammy Chown reports On 29 February, Canada’s ruling Liberal Party confirmed that a proposed expansion of its medical assistance in dying (MAID) measures would be delayed for a second time.1 Originally proposed in a 2021 amendment to the 2016 law, it would have added mental illness as a qualifying condition for MAID. The expansion never came to pass. After initially committing to 17 March 2024, the government has pushed it back another three years to 2027 following a parliamentary report from the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying. It stated that the country is “not yet ready” for the expansion, with fundamental questions of implementation yet to be answered. These include assessing irremediability (that is, the condition is incurable or irreversible); distinguishing MAID requests from suicidality; a lack of professional consensus; the availability of trained practitioners; and further considerations surrounding the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.23 People with disabilities and disability advocates say this is proof that the proposal to include mental illness is flawed, particularly as the country has seen a substantial increase in mental illness over the past decade.45 With concerns about loosening eligibility to include populations that are most likely to be affected, including lack of consultation and ongoing gaps in mental healthcare, many see the proposed expansion as fraught with ableism and have called for the government to repeal existing MAID legislation—including its 2021 expansion to people who are not dying.67 “The proponents are having a discussion based on, ‘I want this, I want that.’ And we are having a discussion based on an understanding of our collective safety or collective …

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加拿大辅助死亡扩张计划中，残疾人群体感到被忽视

加拿大政府推迟了扩大世界上最宽松的安乐死法律之一的计划，重新引发了有关该国立场的争论。 Sammy Chown 报道 2 月 29 日，加拿大执政党自由党确认，扩大其临终医疗援助 (MAID) 措施的提议将第二次推迟。1 最初是在 2016 年法律的 2021 年修正案中提出的，它会补充说精神疾病作为女佣的资格条件。扩张从未实现。在最初承诺 2024 年 3 月 17 日之后，根据死亡医疗援助特别联合委员会的议会报告，政府将其又推迟了三年，即 2027 年。它表示，该国“尚未准备好”扩大规模，实施的基本问题尚未得到解答。其中包括评估不可治愈性（即病情无法治愈或不可逆转）；区分 MAID 请求和自杀；缺乏专业共识；是否有经过培训的从业人员；以及围绕《加拿大权利和自由宪章》的进一步考虑。23 残疾人和残疾人权益倡导者表示，这证明将精神疾病纳入其中的提案是有缺陷的，特别是因为该国在过去十年中精神疾病大幅增加。 45 由于担心放宽资格以纳入最有可能受到影响的人群，包括缺乏咨询和心理保健方面持续存在的差距，许多人认为拟议的扩张充满了体能歧视，并呼吁政府废除现有的 MAID 立法——包括到 2021 年，该计划将扩展到那些不会死亡的人。67“支持者正在进行基于‘我想要这个，我想要那个’的讨论。”我们正在基于对我们集体安全或集体的理解进行讨论......