5 THINGS ABOUT ASSISTED DEATHS.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ASSISTED DYING

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NEW REPORT Nearly a year after Canada’s historic new era of assisted dying was ushered in, the federal government has issued its first interim report on the practice. According to the update, at least 803 people died by a doctorhastened death in the first six months after the landmark new law came into force last June. In addition, between June 17 and the end of December, 2016, another 167 deaths were reported in Quebec prior to June. Quebec’s own “medical aid in dying” law came into force in December 2015. That brings the total to 970. However, it doesn’t include the people who were granted an exemption for an assisted death after the Supreme Court gave the Liberals a four-month extension to produce a new law. Those numbers have never been publicly reported.

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SMALL NUMBERS Medically assisted deaths accounted for less than 0.6 per cent of all deaths in Canada over the reporting period. No one was predicting a sudden rush of people to doctors seeking assisted death once the law prohibiting the act was lifted. However, some earlier estimates, based on the Netherlands experience, where about four per cent of deaths are by euthanasia (doctor-administered lethal injection), suggested 1,500 to 3,000 Canadians outside Quebec might seek an assisted death over the first six months of the new law.

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THE BIGGEST TRIGGER HAS BEEN CANCER Cancer was the most commonly cited underlying medical condition among those granted an assisted death, followed by neurodegenerative diseases (multiple sclerosis, ALS) and cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. In eight per cent of deaths, an underling medical condition wasn’t reported. The national “roll up” also doesn’t provide complete and accurate reporting of the total number of requests not granted — or the reasons for not granting them.

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LETHAL INJECTIONS Only a small fraction of assisted deaths (0.4 per cent of all MAID deaths) were “self-administered,” meaning the patient took a doctor-prescribed lethal drug overdose. The rest were by doctor-administered lethal injection. One reason is the lack of access to the appropriate drugs.

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HOME OR HOSPITAL? In B.C. and Manitoba, most assisted deaths occurred in the home. In Ontario, the majority took place in hospitals. One of the thorniest issues around MAID remains the decision by most faith-based — but taxpayer funded hospitals — to refuse to allow assisted death within their walls.