Fact File: Headlines Falsely Claim Woman Approved for MAID because She Couldn't Cook
The professors said counselling helped her reconsider, and they warned that over 5% of Canadian deaths now involve assisted dying.
- On Monday, University of Toronto psychiatry professors Gary Rodin and Madeline Li published a New York Times opinion piece arguing for mandatory reflection periods in Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying program.
- Their article followed viral misinformation claiming a patient was approved for MAID solely because she lost her cooking ability, a claim Rodin said was wrong.
- The woman had an underlying health condition qualifying her for MAID; her inability to cook "affected her will to live," Rodin explained, illustrating how counseling can alter end-of-life decisions.
- Canada's MAID requests increased 16-fold in eight years after the 2021 removal of the "reasonably foreseeable" death requirement, with the procedure now accounting for more than five per cent of all deaths.
- Advocating for systemic reform, the professors propose integrating reflective conversations into approvals, though not routine psychiatric evaluations, emphasizing "Death must not become the only kind of relief.
30 Articles
30 Articles
Canadian Woman Approved for Euthanasia After Losing Ability to Cook, Doctors Warn
A Canadian woman in her 70s received approval for assisted suicide after becoming unable to cook for her family and feeling that she no longer had value, according to two Toronto psychiatrists who say Canada’s MAiD system has expanded too far. University of Toronto psychiatry professors Madeline Li and Gary Rodin described the case in a New York Times op-ed published Monday while warning about the direction of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dyin…
Winnipeg Free Press
Fact File: Headlines falsely claim woman approved for MAID because she couldn't cook
This week, media headlines and social media posts claimed a Canadian woman was approved for medical assistance in dying because she lost her ability to cook. The claim stems from an opinion article written by two Canadian psychiatrists who recount the woman's story. But the article's co-author says the woman had an underlying condition that meant she qualified for MAID, and her story was meant to highlight how psychological factors influenced he…
The Post Millennial
kvi.comOntario woman seeks and is approved for MAID after no longer being able to cook for family
"She felt she had lost her value to her family. Through counselling, she came to understand that her family valued who she was, not what she did for them."
Canada Approved Euthanasia for Woman Who Could No Longer Cook for Her Family
A Canadian woman in her 70s was approved for euthanasia after she lost the ability to cook for her family, a role she had prized as the matriarch. Unfortunately, she was almost killed before counseling helped her see that her life was not measured by the meals she served. Doctors Gary Rodin and Madeline Li […]
National Post
MAID approved for Canadian woman who could no longer cook, say U of T doctors in NYT oped
Writing in the New York Times, Dr. Gary Rodin and Dr. Madeline Li say focus is on whether patients can get MAiD and not whether they should.
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