An elderly woman in Canada was euthanized only hours after telling doctors she wanted to live and receive hospice care instead.
She had become very ill after heart surgery and was being cared for at home by her elderly husband, who doctors noted was experiencing “caregiver burnout.”
According to an official review, the woman (Mrs. B) told one assessor she wanted to withdraw her request for assisted death, citing “personal and religious values,” and asked for hospice care instead.
Her hospice placement was quickly denied, and her husband requested an “urgent” reassessment for assisted dying, saying he could no longer cope with caring for her.
She was euthanized that same evening.
Reviewers later said the short timeline failed to properly examine her true wishes, with the case raising serious questions about Canada’s approach to euthanasia.
Ontario MAiD Death Review Committee members raised concerns about how Mrs B’s case was handled, in the report released by the Office of the Chief Coroner.
Many members ‘believed the short timeline did not allow all aspects of Mrs B’s social and end-of-life circumstances and care needs to be explored’.
These included ‘the impact of being denied hospice care, additional care options, caregiver burden, consistency of the MAiD request, and divergent MAiD practitioner perspectives’.
‘Many members brought forward concerns of possible external coercion arising from the caregiver’s experience of burnout and lack of access to palliative care in an in-patient or hospice setting,’ the report noted.
Members were also concerned that Mrs B’s spouse was the main person advocating and navigating access to MAiD, and there was little documentation that she actually asked for it herself.
If you get sick in Canada, run, run as fast as you can.
