A person challenging a federal government’s assisted dying law in court says they suffer from a long-standing and severe mental health condition. The law excludes people with mental illnesses from assisted dying.
The Dying with Dignity’s application to the Ontario Superior Court argues that it is discriminatory to deny people with mental health conditions the same right to assisted dying as those who are physically ill.
The organization is calling on the court to immediately strike down the exclusion of people with mental illnesses from the law. The plaintiff, John Scully, said the court is his last hope.
Medications, therapies, and treatments have not been able to relieve the former war correspondent from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Sleep disturbances have made everything worse.
In a recent interview, she said, ‘I’ve only managed to sleep for four hours in the last 36 hours. Nightmares and a sense of dirtiness have robbed me of my sleep.’
Scali, 83, says her condition is deteriorating daily. Not just mentally but physically as well.
The federal government has delayed a plan that was announced last February to expand the scope of voluntary euthanasia. People suffering from mental health issues were supposed to be granted the right to voluntary euthanasia from March onwards. This expansion has now been pushed back to 2027.
The government has cited the provinces’ unpreparedness and the unresolved question of how psychiatrists will determine whether a person with a mental health issue can be cured as reasons for the delay.
Dying with Dignity, Shalak and a third plaintiff, Claire Alice Brosseau, have argued that excluding mental health issues from the law violates Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The section states that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of the person.
The court application argues that excluding mental illness from the criteria for MAID amounts to a violation of the constitutional right to not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by forcing those who are eligible for MAID to endure intolerable suffering.
Toronto, Canada
