Father Asks Court to Stop 27-Year-Old Daughter’s MAID Death, Review Doctors’ Sign-Off

The Calgary Courts Centre is seen in an undated file photo. The Canadian Press

A Calgary father has asked the courts to review his 27-year-old daughter’s medically assisted suicide approval, saying she suffers from autism and should not qualify.

A publication ban on the case prevents The Epoch Times from using the father and daughter’s full names. The court has identified the father as W.V. and the daughter as M.V.

M.V. was scheduled for medical assistance in dying (MAID) on Feb. 1, but W.V. was successful in getting a court-ordered injunction, the CBC reports. He has asked for a judicial review of M.V.’s approval for MAID.

The girl lives with her father, who says that she suffers from mental illness, including autism, and that the application should be reviewed.

The daughter has not submitted any documentation to the court to support her eligibility for MAID, something her lawyer said was deliberate.

“She’s saying ‘it’s none of [W.V.’s] or the public’s business, I’ve been approved by two doctors, I am entitled to this and, court, it’s none of your business either,’” Austin Paladeau said.

However, the court has heard that M.V. did not receive the support of one of the initial physicians she approached, but was able to find a third doctor to support her application for MAID.

M.V.’s lawyer is arguing that as an adult she should have autonomy.

“I completely understand [W.V.] does not want his daughter to die … I represent [M.V.], I don’t want her to die either but that doesn’t play into account here,” Mr. Paladeau was quoted as saying.

“Even though we have or may have very strong views … at the end of the day this is [M.V.’s] decision.”

W.V. presented the court with a neurology doctor’s assessment of his daughter that says she is “normal.” The judge has called this case “vexing.”

“As a court, I can’t go second guessing these MAID assessors … but I’m stuck with this: the only comprehensive assessment of this person done says she’s normal,” Court of King’s Bench Justice Colin Feasby said.

He reserved his decision on whether the temporary injunction would be set aside, allowing M.V. to follow through with MAID.

The judge will also need to decide whether to allow the judicial review.

The case comes after the federal government introduced legislation that would put a pause on a MAID expansion for those with only mental illness.

Ottawa said the pause would delay the expansion until 2027.

MAID legislation was introduced in 2016, and expanded in 2020 to those whose natural death is not “reasonably foreseeable.”

Canada’s MAID regulations are among the most permissive in the world, and the number of people using it has increased over the past few years.

In 2022, the number of MAID-related deaths rose by 31.2 percent or 13,241 individuals, accounting for over 4 percent of all deaths in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. In 2021, that number was 10,029 deaths, and in 2020 it was 7,446.