An Ontario man had his assisted suicide request approved after experiencing physical decline from what was labelled as post-COVID-19 “vaccination syndrome.” The case is an anomaly and the term remains up for debate.
The man, identified as “Mr. A,” had his request heard by multiple specialists who could not come to a consensus on whether his condition met the criteria of being “irremediable,” in other words, incurable.
Mr. A’s case was cited among others in a series of reports published by a 16-member review committee tasked with overseeing the government assisted suicide program earlier this year at the behest of Ontario’s Chief Coroner’s Office.
According to the reports, Mr. A was enduring “suffering and functional decline” after receiving three vaccinations for SARS-CoV-2.
His condition included depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and personality disorders, “while navigating his physical symptoms,” he was admitted to hospital multiple times, once involuntarily, with thoughts of suicide.
While his assessors could not arrive at a consensus, they “opined that the most reasonable diagnosis for Mr. A’s clinical presentation (severe functional decline) was a post-vaccine syndrome, in keeping with chronic fatigue syndrome.”
While assisted suicide was first legalized in 2016, only adults with incurable physical illnesses were included under the program’s requirements until March 2021 when Parliament passed an updated version of the law in the wake of a Superior Court of Quebec decision ruling that the mental illness provision was unconstitutional.
However, some members of the review panel questioned whether Mr. A’s mental illness should have made him ineligible, especially with a condition “previously unrecognized in medicine.”
Cases like Mr. A’s would file under the track two section of the assisted suicide program, which has been the subject of much debate. Under track two, patients whose natural deaths aren’t reasonably foreseeable but who also suffer from an intolerable condition may apply for an assisted death.
A coalition of disability rights organizations launched a Charter challenge against the federal government in Ontario’s Superior Court over track two last month.
The group filed a notice of application to challenge track two, which the group alleges has resulted in premature deaths.
Track two says that patients whose natural deaths aren’t reasonably foreseeable but who also suffer from an intolerable condition may apply for an assisted death.
Whereas, track one only includes assisted suicide applications from patients whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.
The group argues that track two is an “abandonment” of those that they represent.
According to the death committee review, “only a small number of MAID (medical assistance in dying) deaths in Ontario have identified concerns,” and the deaths selected “are chosen for the ability to generate discussion, thought and considerations for practice improvement
A separate case discussed in the reports involved a man in his late 40s who suffered from severe ulcers and several mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety, narcissistic personality disorder, bipolar disorder and chronic thoughts of suicide.
He had attempted suicide once before receiving assisted suicide.
Another case involved an unemployed man in his 40s with inflammatory bowel disease who was dependent on his family for housing and financial support.
He suffered from opioid addiction and alcoholism but was not offered addiction treatment following a psychiatric assessment but was instead offered assisted suicide.
After being provided information on euthanasia, his assisted suicide provider then personally drove the man to the location of his euthanization, which according to the report, multiple death review committee members believed to be a violation of professional boundaries akin to “hastening a person towards death.”
Other members viewed the provider’s actions as “helpful and compassionate.”
Further details on these cases cannot be made public due to confidentiality and respect for the families.
According to their report, “only a small number of MAID deaths in Ontario have identified concerns,” and the deaths selected “are chosen for the ability to generate discussion, thought and considerations for practice improvement.”
“These cases and the reports from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario confirm what disability advocates and other critics have been saying for years: MAiD is disproportionately affecting the most marginalized,” Rebecca Vachon, Health Program Director at Cardus, a non-partisan think tank, told True North.
“This should prompt provincial and federal authorities to enact stronger monitoring and accountability mechanisms and, most importantly, to prioritize the care and supports that allow Canadians to live well and flourish, especially when facing difficult and complex medical conditions.”