The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has issued its Concluding Observations on Canada’s disability rights practices, highlighting concerns over specific provisions of the country’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law.
The report states, “The Committee is extremely concerned about the 2021 amendments to the State Party’s Criminal code through Bill C-7 that expanded the eligibility criteria for obtaining Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), known as ‘Track 2’ MAiD by removing the ‘foreseeable death’ criteria.”
The Committee pointed out that similar concerns had previously been raised by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and during the Universal Periodic Review. Furthermore, the Committee noted that the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, and the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by older persons have all emphasised that disability should not be a justification for promoting assisted death.
The report says that, “The concept of ‘choice’ creates a false dichotomy by setting up the premise that if persons with disabilities are suffering, it is valid for the State Party to enable their death, with safeguards not guaranteeing the provision of support, and ableist assumptions deemphasizing the myriad of support options for persons with disabilities to live dignified lives…”
The report further indicates that evidence reveals women with disabilities and individuals with disabilities in “marginalized situations” are more likely to seek access to MAiD, and there has been a rising trend in the number of persons with disabilities attempting to access it.
UN reports generally shy away from challenging pro-euthanasia laws. There’s a lot more the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Committee could have said about
Canada’s shocking MAiD law for certain, but it’s a positive thing nonetheless that they at least drew attention to some of the dreadful abuses taking place in Canada which cheapen and show utter disregard for the right to life.