Medical Assistance in Dying Bill an Important Step Forward for Canadians With Dementia

On October 5, 2020, the federal Minister of Justice introduced Bill C-7 to amend Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAiD) legislation. Parliament will debate this bill over the coming weeks, aiming to bring the legislation into force by December 18. One critical question about this bill for hundreds of thousands of Canadians is its implications for people with dementia (most commonly caused by Alzheimer’s disease ). The short answer is that more people with dementia will have access to MAiD, since the legislation allows an advance request for the service before the loss of decision-making capacity.