MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) Canada

"Amongst his multiple specialists, no unifying diagnosis was confirmed. [However, his MAID assessors [felt that the most reasonable diagnosis for Mr. A's clinical presentation [severe functional decline] was a post-vaccine syndrome, in keeping with chronic fatigue syndrome."

"[In the case of] Non-reasonably foreseeable death [patients  were more likely to live in the most maginalized areas in the province, more likely to require disability supports, more likely to be female and more likely to live alone at all ages]."

MAID death review medical report

"I think we have gone so far over the line with Track 2 that people cannot even see the line that we've crossed."

"It's pretty clear that some providers are going up to that line and maybe beyond it. This is actually suicide facilitation in some cases."

"[In the case of Mr. A.] even separate and apart from whether post-vaccine syndrome is a valid entry, it's very clear that even [the MAID assessors] weren't sure of it"

"There was repeated discussion about 'no determinant diagnostic results', no unifying diagnosis. It was really just the MAID assessors who ended up saying the most reasonable diagnosis is post-vaccine syndrome completely ignoring the fact that the symptoms of depression, trauma and addictions can cause a whole slew of symptoms, including physical ones."

Dr. Sonu Gaind, psychiatrist, professor of medicine, University of Toronto 

Some members of the MAID death review panel questioned whether “post-vaccine syndrome” — a condition "previously unrecognized in medicine" — could be considered incurable. Photo by Getty Images

 

Euthanasia was extended to a man in his late 40s who had a background of mental illness. His assisted death assessors had decided the most reasonable explanation for his severe physical decline had to be a post-COVID-19 'vaccination syndrome'. 'Post-vaccine syndrome' is not included within Canada's current vaccine report system for adverse effects. Many specialists who had been consulted prior to his assisted death were not able to agree on a diagnosis, which left unanswered the question whether the man's medical condition even met the criteria for "irremediable", the cornerstone of MAID accessibility.

'This particular case is but one of several addressed in a number of reports by a MAID death review committee struck at the behest of the chief coroner's office of Ontario. 'Mr. A' had suffered functional decline in the wake of three SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations. Depression, PTSD, anxiety and personality disorders were also issues that the man suffered from. He was twice admitted to hospital with suicidal ideation "while navigating his physical symptoms".

 

Nonetheless no "pathological findings" were identified at a post-mortem that could pinpoint the presence of any underlying physiological diagnoses.  The report brings to light difficulties in granting euthanasia for those whose medical conditions are not recognized as terminal, those whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable, placed into a "Track 2" category. People suffering from a multitude of medical conditions who are actively seeking approval for MAID, fall into that category.

 

There are troubling instances when a medical care provider will broach the topic of medical assistance in dying, ostensibly as a gentle reminder that the protocol exists whereby an seriously untenable life can be ended with medical intervention under certain qualifying conditions. Those qualifying conditions have departed from the original regulations safeguarding the system from abuse. Simply by casually mentioning MAID, and handing out pamphlets explaining it as an optional solution is a  tendency to guide patients toward requesting that solution to their intractable medical condition.

 

Mental illness in and of itself is not an ultimate qualifying condition for MAID. An individual with mental illness alone "wouldn't suffice" in qualifying for MAID, since it cannot be viewed as the sole underlying condition in seeking out MAID.  According to statistics, over 13 billion COVID vaccine doses have been given globally, saving millions of lives. A study involving over 99 million vaccinated people from eight countries discovered that known side-effects are rare.

 

Yet, according to Immunologist Dawn Bowdish with McMaster University, following vaccination rare conditions can occur that have the potential for 'life-altering consequences'. The immune system attacks the nerves of the spinal cord with transverse myelitis leading to a condition resembling multiple sclerosis; Guillain-Barre system can occur when someone's immune system attacks their nerves causing muscle weakness and occasionally weakness that turns in rare cases to paralysis. 

Still, a chronic post-vaccine syndrome is a controversial issue. A workers' compensation company WorkSafeBC, found no published data supporting the development of chronic fatigue syndrome, following a mRNA COVID vaccination. In responses to an online survey, 241 adults reported continuing symptoms following a COVID vaccination, symptoms including excessive fatigue, brain fog and pain, numbness and tingling.

"So, now we have to say, 'Well, here's what we think is a likely medical diagnosis. And then, on top of it, with the clear diagnostic uncertainty they're able to say, 'Oh, plus this is now irremediable'."

"Because if  they don't say that, obviously you don't qualify for MAID."

Dr. Sonu Gaind