MAiD and marginalized people: Coroner’s reports shed light on assisted death in Ontario

People who chose medically assisted death when they were not terminally ill were more likely to be marginalized than those who chose MAiD when death was already imminent. (Shutterstock)

Earlier this month, the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario released new reports highlighting some of the reasons some Canadians have chosen medical assistance in dying (MAiD, which in Canada involves euthanasia — meaning medically-administered injection rather than self-administered — over 99.9 per cent of the time).

The reports have received international attention for what they highlight, including patients being euthanized despite untreated mental illness and addictions, unclear medical diagnoses and suffering fuelled by housing insecurity, poverty and social marginalization.