Canada’s law relating to medical assistance in dying (MAID) continues to evolve, but some advocates say it still doesn’t go far enough.
When Bill C7 was passed in March, it meant a person’s natural death no longer had to be “reasonably foreseeable” in order to access MAID.
“Many more suffering Canadians, including some of those with neurocognitive conditions like dementia, Parkinson’s, or Huntington’s disease, can access their right to an assisted death if they meet all the requirements,” Dying With Dignity Canada states on its website.
“However, many still don’t qualify — including those not yet diagnosed, who don’t have the option to make an advance request for MAID under the law, and those suffering solely from a mental health condition.”
It’s an issue that is close to Audrey Baylis (née Tiffin), who was born and raised in Orillia. In particular, she wants people to be able to make their wishes for MAID known in advance, before they have a condition that could be potentially life threatening and might not be able to provide final consent at the time of the procedure.
Baylis, a senior who now lives in Greenbank in Scugog Township, had a number of health scares when she was younger. Before the age of 31, she had five major operations, had two-thirds of her stomach removed and suffered three cardiac arrests.
Around that time, she knew of a couple who were planning to wed when they were in a collision involving a drunk driver. The man was killed, while the woman was left in a vegetative state. Up until her death a few years ago, her mother would regularly visit her and help look after her.
“I could see that happening to me after having three cardiac arrests,” said Baylis, who once worked as a nurse at Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital.
The issue became more personal for the retired registered nurse when her husband, Lester, accessed MAID.
Lester’s health took a hit when, in 2000, he suffered a heart attack and had to undergo double bypass surgery.
Nine years later, another heart attack resulted in a pacemaker/defibrillator being installed. It bought him more time with his wife, but in 2020, his heart condition worsened and he was told end-of-life care was all that could be provided.
“It was explained to us what could be expected for his quality of life up until his impending death, which was not pleasant nor easy to hear,” Baylis said. “He would have declining health with weakness increasing as he struggled to breathe.”
Lester wanted to maintain some control over his fate, so discussions about MAID were had with the family doctor.
He was deemed eligible for MAID at that time, and then again after a second assessment at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, where his defibrillator was disconnected.
Lester and his wife of 58 years made the most of their remaining time together, going to visit family and friends and places dear to him.
Lester decided he wanted to die at home on his 83rd birthday, Nov. 29, 2020. That date had to be pushed up as his health declined, and he took his last breath Nov. 23.
On that day, the couple had breakfast together for the last time. Not long after, their kids arrived to spend some final time with their father.
Before the doctor administered the medication that would end Lester’s life, she again asked him if that was, in fact, what he wanted. He assured her it was.
“Lester was a part of the whole process, communicating with us right up to the minute before he took his last breath,” Baylis said. “The entire affair was peaceful, safe and loving.”
That isn’t the case for many, which is why Baylis wanted to share the experience as a way to destigmatize MAID.
“His last days could have been very different, full of suffering and pain, and I would have been left with those memories instead of the wonderful ones we made roaming the countryside and visiting our loved ones,” she said.
“Allowing a person to plan in advance would prevent any future complications if they were, for some reason, unable to qualify for MAID due to being declared non-competent.”
The topic of advance requests was on the agenda of Canada’s special joint committee on MAID, but that group was dissolved as a result of the election being called this year.
Both Baylis and Dying With Dignity Canada are calling for the committee to be reconstituted as soon as possible so the matter can be dealt with.
Many people who are currently in good health know they would want MAID if they ended up in a certain situation, Baylis said.
“Right now, it wouldn’t make any difference what you think. That’s what we’re trying to change,” she said.
Puneet Luthra, director of government and stakeholder relations with Dying With Dignity Canada, noted more than 80 per cent of Canadians want there to be an option for an advance request for MAID.
“It comes down to choice, and living and dying in the way you, as an independent human being, want to live and die,” he said.
Senator Pamela Wallin had introduced an amendment to the legislation that would allow for advance requests, but it went by the wayside when the election was called.
“They need to be reconstituted,” Luthra said of the committee. “They’ve got to make this a priority.”
He noted two sisters in British Columbia have been emailing every member of Parliament in the country to advocate for advance requests, using their father’s situation as an example of why it is needed.
Their dad suffers from dementia and is wheelchair bound in a long-term care home.
“He will most likely die there in a way the sisters and anyone think is undignified,” Luthra said. “That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing right now.”
The Dying With Dignity website includes a section where people can fill out a form to ask their MPs to “respect the end-of-life rights and choices of all Canadians by supporting the immediate reinitiation of the parliamentary review of MAID and the study of critical issues such as advance requests and mental illness.”
Baylis said she inquired about being on the committee but was told it was reserved for elected officials only. That isn’t stopping her in her quest to be heard. She wants to be part of a panel to discuss the issue and ensure people — including medical professionals — have the proper education about MAID.
“Basically, we’re taught how to keep people well,” she said of health-care professionals. “Well, there comes a time when that is over, and that is not being taught to doctors or nurses. At the end of life, there comes a time when you can only support them, and the support is what is failing, and the understanding.”
She will continue to push to be a voice at the table, motivated by the memories of her late husband, as well as his work ethic.
Lester was a well-respected member of the community in Greenbank, of which he was a lifelong resident. He was known as a hard-working farmer who, even in retirement, helped out his neighbours with work they needed done.
He spent decades volunteering and was once named the village’s citizen of the year.
More than that, “he was a wonderful father and a wonderful husband,” Baylis said.
