BY ANOTHONY GUERRERO<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trigger Warning: suicide and suicidal thoughts<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In mid-March, Canada will expand its medical assistance in dying services to include people with mental illnesses. Currently restricted to individuals with serious and incurable diseases, the medical assistance in dying law (MAID) allows Canadians to die by suicide with the help of the medical industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eligibility requirements for MAID<\/a> include being at least 18 years old, eligible for publicly funded health care services, being in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability, and making a voluntary request for MAID services that are not the result of external pressure – among other requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On March 17, Canadians who meet the above criteria and have conditions in a psychiatric area like depression will also be eligible for MAID services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Safeguards in MAID are in place for anyone whose death is reasonably foreseeable. These include a written statement in front of a healthcare worker, an assessment by a healthcare worker to verify that all criteria are met, and the patient is informed that they can take back their consent for MAID. <\/p>\n\n\n\n FHSU Assistant Professor of Political Science, Jay Steinmetz, who specializes in American politics and public law, expects laws similar to MAID to be passed in more states in America. Oregon was the first state to begin giving lethal doses of drugs to patients in 1997. Currently, Washington, Montana, Vermont, California, Colorado, Washington D.C., Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine, and New Mexico have laws similar to MAID. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI suspect a lot of other states have toyed with or talked about passing legislation that gives a right to die,\u201d Steinmetz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steinmetz talks about the potential users of MAID, like those with diseases, and what their lives would be like if they didn\u2019t receive assistance in dying, thanks to the current laws in their state that prohibits it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do know statistically from failed suicides that people who try to commit suicide and ultimately live is extremely high,\u201d Steinmetz said. \u201cNearly 80 or 90 percent of people who tried to commit suicide regret their attempt of committing suicide and are thankful that they failed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 2018, the official website for the Government of Canada states they have an incomplete data collection<\/a> of who is requesting and receiving MAID, and for what reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to the law being revised in March to include people with mental health, Steinmetz is wary of the results that can come from it, saying both physical health and mental health ailments have a different effect on the quality of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a stickier one. I\u2019m a little more skeptical of the law in that respect,\u201d Steinmetz said. \u201cI think mental health issues are qualitatively different than a lot of other biological and incurable diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n