BC Man Received Euthanasia While on Day Pass From Psychiatric Ward, Family Alleges

Canada's MAID legislation currently doesn't allow euthanasia for people whose sole medical condition is mental illness, though lawmakers are looking into expanding the legislation to include that by 2027. Khunnine/Shutterstock

A British Columbia family is suing federal and provincial authorities for wrongful death, saying that a man with mental illnesses received medical assistance in dying (MAID) while on a day pass from a Vancouver psychiatric ward two years ago, despite not being eligible or having the capacity to give consent.

The family alleges his death was the result of “wrongful actions” by the physicians and institutions involved, as well as “unconstitutional” MAID regulations that lack proper safeguards.

The notice of civil claim was filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Dec. 13. It says the 52-year-old man, identified by initials only, who suffered from long-term mental illness and remediable chronic back pain, received approval for assisted dying even though his pain was neither severe nor incurable to make him eligible.

The family consists of five plaintiffs, also identified by initials only, who are the man’s father, former spouse, and three children.

The lawsuit’s defendants include the Attorney General of Canada, B.C.’s Minister of Health, Willow Reproductive Health Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, the Provincial Health Services Authority, and Providence Health Care Society, which operates St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver where the man had been receiving treatment.

Two physicians are also listed as defendants, including Ellen Wiebe, a Vancouver physician at the Willow clinic and a MAID provider, and Simon Malcolm Bow, a physician at St. Paul’s specializing in psychiatry.

The family is accusing Wiebe of malpractice. Wiebe is a member of an advisory council at Dying with Dignity Canada, an organization that advocates for MAID rights.

None of the claims have been proven in court.

The patient referred to in the Dec. 13 lawsuit, identified as J.M.M., was a businessman and a father of three. He had been formally diagnosed with mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, in or around 2013, according to the court document.

In late 2022, his family obtained a court order under B.C.’s Mental Health Act to commit him to the psychiatric ward of St. Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver, where he began to receive treatment for his mental illness, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit said J.M.M. was wrongfully approved for MAID “through the defendants’ misconduct” and that he later decided to forgo that option in favour of other treatments including rehabilitation. According to the court document, after learning of the alleged approval, the family notified the defendants of their concerns about its legitimacy, but received no response.

The document does not say when the patient was approved for MAID.

The lawsuit adds, “The plaintiffs were not informed of J.M.M.’s departure from St. Paul’s Hospital until after J.M.M. had undergone MAiD.”

Canada’s MAID legislation currently doesn’t allow euthanasia for people whose sole medical condition is mental illness, though lawmakers are looking into expanding the legislation to include that by 2027.

The lawsuit says that although it’s true that people suffering solely from mental illness aren’t eligible for euthanasia, there are no adequate safeguards to exclude those with “concurrent mental and physical illnesses.” The family argues that the man’s Charter rights were breached and that the MAID legislative framework is unconstitutional.

Both Providence Health Care and Vancouver Coastal Health said they could not comment, citing patient confidentiality and ongoing court proceedings. The office of the Attorney General of Canada didn’t respond.

The Epoch Times also reached out to Wiebe but did not hear back by publication time. The Canadian Press reported that Wiebe has declined comment.

Wiebe testified at a parliamentary committee in May 2022 that by that time, she had provided MAID to about 430 patients.

On Oct. 27 this year, a B.C. Supreme Court judge granted a temporary injunction that stopped Wiebe or any other medical professional from providing MAID to a 53-year-old Alberta woman. The injunction was granted the day before it was scheduled to take place in Vancouver.

The woman had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but later became convinced she had akathisia–an inability to stay still. She began exploring medically assisted death in Alberta but was unable to obtain approval as medical professionals said her condition was “treatable” and manageable.  She then found Wiebe, who approved her “at the end of their first call,” the court document says.

The lawsuit was filed by the woman’s common-law partner. He argued that she did not qualify for MAID because her condition was one of mental illness or disability and her physical illness was not irremediable.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.