Prof Leonie Herx is the Chair of the Division of Palliative Medicine and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. This talk was recorded at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow on January 31st, 2023.
VIDEO CONTENTS
00:00 – Prof David Galloway – Introduction
09:24 – Prof Leonie Herx – Intro & Outline
10:46 – What is MAiD in Canada?
12:18 – MAiD in contrast to palliative care
15:00 – Progression of Canadian legislation
16:30 – Widening of eligibility – court rulings & ‘progressive’ interpretations
21:23 – 2021 legislative changes
22:24 – Eligibility conditions
24:47 – Initial discourse around legislating
25:39 – MAiD Deaths in Canada
26:50 – Nature of suffering of those requesting MAiD
27:54 – Safeguards
32:07 – Oversight of safeguards
35:03 – Healthcare savings in MAiD
36:16 – Healthcare & Social Care Workers recommending MAiD due to cost of care and perceived poor quality of life
40:12 – MAiD due to lack of access to adequate care, poor living conditions, costs of care and fear of COVID lockdowns
42:04 – MAiD has been rapidly normalized as a standard medical therapy
44:50 – MAiD as a source of organ donations
45:54 – Ongoing conflation of MAiD with palliative care (Budget impacts)
47:10 – Hospice funding removed
48:22 – Same day MAiD
49:33 – Access to palliative care in Canada and in MAiD
50:56 – Impact of MAid on palliative care
53:00 – Impact on medicine – Death as a first line ‘treatment’
55:42 – Suicide prevention vs suicide completion?
57:04 – Impacts on society – Romanticising euthanasia
58:28 – Division and conflict within families
59:42 – Advocating for safety becomes regarded as ‘Anti-MAiD’
60:58 – Conclusions
