Canada to indefinitely pause euthanasia for mental illness alone

The Canadian government will indefinitely extend a ban on expanding its medical assistance in dying (MAID) program to include individuals suffering solely from mental illness, Minister of Justice Sean Fraser announced Oct. 7.

Fraser told media at the Canadian House of Commons that upcoming legislation will maintain this restriction. The decision follows a unanimous recommendation from a joint parliamentary committee to pause the expansion. Fraser stated that while there is no perfect consensus on the issue, the government believes this is the correct approach at this time.

The MAID program is currently limited to people with a grievous and irremediable medical condition, though the condition does not have to be terminal. The government previously postponed the debate over mental health expansion in 2024 after a parliamentary report stated the country was not ready. Since the program was legalized roughly a decade ago, approximately 100,000 Canadians have died through MAID, which accounted for about one in every 20 deaths in 2023.