Dec. 19, 2022

Experts calling for delay to MAiD legislation that will add mental disorders as options for assessment

While Snyder Institute member Dr. Valerie Taylor says she supports this step coming into effect, she and other psychiatrists are calling for the legislation to be delayed so they can be more prepared for its eventual role out.
Dr. Valerie Taylor, MD, PhD
Photo courtesy University of Calgary

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in 2016 for people suffering from physical illness.

Now in March 2023, that legislation is going to be taken a step further to allow those who are suffering from a mental disorder to have MAiD as an option available to them.

It's a step that Dr. Valerie Taylor supports coming into effect, but she and other psychiatrists are calling for the legislation to be delayed so they can be more prepared for its eventual role out. Taylor is the department head of psychiatry at the University of Calgary, and is a member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute at UCalgary's Cumming School of Medicine. She is also the chair of the Association of Chairs of Psychiatry in Canada (ACPC). Read the full story