Assisted dying debates intensify following deaths in Canada and UK

In Canada, Alicia Duncan is calling for reforms to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) protocols following the death of her mother, Donna Duncan, in British Columbia. Donna, a retired psychiatric nurse, received euthanasia at home on October 29, 2021, only hours after being released from involuntary psychiatric care. Alicia disputes the assessment that her mother’s death was reasonably foreseeable, arguing that Donna was in a mental health crisis rather than a terminal state.

In the United Kingdom, prominent broadcaster and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen has died at age 86 following a battle with stage four lung cancer. Rantzen, the founder of charities such as ChildLine and Silverline, was a leading advocate for the legalization of assisted dying in England and Wales. She had previously criticized existing laws as ‘messy and cruel’ and had discussed plans to seek assisted death at a clinic in Switzerland.