Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Kitchen & Dining Tech Style & Beauty Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Amazon Prime Day Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNP CommentHoward Jampolsky: Canadians must pump the breaks on MAIDWe should be wary about further liberalizing an already dangerous policy You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Photo by Francesc Domènech/Getty ImagesWhen medical assistance in dying (MAID) became law in 2016, advocates of the policy celebrated. People now had the right to ask their doctor to end their lives to avoid suffering and spare their loved ones the agony of watching them die a slow and possibly undignified death. This was argued as the most basic of human rights: the right to control one’s own destiny.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThe debate was between those who believe only God can decide when we die, and those who believe people should have the right to control their own destiny. Ultimately, the law of land permitted physicians to end the life of a patient, as long rigid criteria were met.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againInitially, the process for applying for MAID was not taken lightly. A person’s death must be “reasonably foreseeable” and the condition must be “grievous and irremediable.”As a licensed funeral director and the executive director of a not-for-profit funeral home providing services for the Jewish community in Vancouver, I began to see growing acceptance of MAID. While not in keeping with Jewish (and other religious) traditions, the question was: “Who are we to judge?”I remember the first MAID cases I handled. It was a confusing and awkward experience. I was dealing with families experiencing a myriad of emotions, from grief to relief and everything in between. Having a date circled on the calendar when mom or dad is scheduled to die is distressing.Over the years, MAID applications increased significantly and were being approved more liberally. As this evolved, the criteria changed. Some physicians began to look at MAID less as a final and serious consideration, and more as standard operating procedure when a person felt he or she no longer wanted to be around.As a funeral director, I see the medical death certificates physicians sign when a patient dies, and I sometimes question whether the person coming into our care after death by MAID should have been approved.In one particular case, while the immediate cause of death was stated as MAID (which is required), contributing health issues only listed “early onset dementia” and “arthritis.” I was prepared to inform the coroner as I felt this was surely a violation of the law. I chose not to on the pleas of the family of the deceased woman, but it has haunted me ever since.One safeguard of MAID that was stated as being a bedrock principle of the policy was that the person whose life was being ended needed to be of sound mind and were subject to a mandatory wait period, to ensure people knew what they were getting into and weren’t making rash decisions.Last year, National Post reported on a woman whose life was ended by MAID, and because she had dementia, a family member made the initial application. Just before the procedure was carried out, the woman was asked if she agreed.She was deemed to have acknowledged after she repeated the question and squeezed the hand of the physician. So with the parroting of a question and a squeeze of the hand, a woman with limited cognitive ability was given a lethal drug and died right then and there.Leaving alone the serious question of her direct consent, is it appropriate for someone to apply for MAID on another person’s behalf? Is that person a beneficiary of the estate of the person for whom the decision is being made?That would seem like a conflict of interest to me. Yet in this case, the person undergoing the life-ending procedure neither applied for it, nor is it clear that she understood what was being asked of her in her last moment.In 2016 — a mere decade ago — MAID was ushered in with the core principle that the individual would have the sole choice, and only in cases where natural death was expected in the near term. The guardrails were very quickly widened.I argued at the time that there would be a liberalization of the policy. I could not have imagined it would occur so quickly. It is only a matter of time before public health officials start debating who in society should receive expensive treatments for diseases and who should not.Will the day come when a 75-year-old diagnosed with an expensive-to-treat disease is told that it is not in the public interest to spend that much money? The option of an easy way out through MAID could be offered to limit the suffering of the patient, as well as the burden on society. How easy would that be?The thin edge of the wedge is MAID. Balancing budgets by reducing health-care costs may be next. Health care is the largest expense of every provincial government by a long shot, and a large portion of those costs are for people who are past retirement age. MAID provides an easy solution to the economic challenges facing governments across the country.People need to understand one thing: when you devalue death, you also devalue life.I hope I am wrong, and that the alarm bells ringing in my mind are false. Yet that’s what people told me 10 years ago. I hope society will see far enough down the road to be wary about further liberalizing an already dangerous policy.National PostHoward Jampolsky is a licensed funeral director in British Columbia and the executive director of the Schara Tzedeck Cemetery Board, as well as a board member of the B.C. Funeral Association. Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.