A fact-checked debate about euthanasia in Canada
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Publicado 2023-07-27
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:36 Fact #1
3:10 Dr. Green Introduction
3:29 Background info
4:07 Fact #2
5:21 Dr. Maher introduction
5:42 Fact #3
7:20 Fact #4
8:31 Fact #5
10:04 Fact #6
11:20 Questions
13:44 Personal experiences
15:47 Debunk
17:10 Uncertainties
19:00 Closing statements
In 2016, a Supreme Court case in Canada removed the criminal penalties for doctors providing a patient with a medically assisted death. Since then, the country has been embroiled in a legal and ethical debate about where to draw the line on who qualifies for one.
In the US states where it's legal, that line is drawn at a terminal diagnosis with 6 months to live. On the other end of the spectrum, countries like Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands allow anyone suffering from a serious condition to qualify, so long as they’ve exhausted treatments available to them.
After a series of court cases, Canada has landed somewhere closer to where the Benelux countries are: there is no terminal diagnosis requirement, and next year, people whose only serious condition is a mental illness will qualify for an assisted death.
While the Canadian public appears to show large support for the policy change, there are vocal minorities who believe that it is dangerous. Many in the disability rights community believe that making a disability an eligible condition for assisted death is discriminatory. Some psychiatrists and mental health practitioners are concerned about when you can decide a mental illness is eligible — and that it could hinder the work of suicide prevention.
This is the debate we present here. Dr. Stefanie Green is a practitioner of medically assisted dying (MAID) in British Columbia and is the co-founder and president of the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers (CAMAP). She also wrote a book about her work as a MAID practitioner, called This is Assisted Dying. She argues that Canada’s policies have been successful and have been extremely meaningful for her patients.
Dr. John Maher is a psychiatrist based in Ontario who leads an Assertive Community Treatment group and is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ethics in Mental Health. He argues that there aren’t enough safeguards in place in Canada and that offering the option of euthanasia to people with mental health will undermine the suicide prevention work he does.
In Vox Video’s take on a debate, we asked both participants to identify facts that their opponent would have to concede are true. They were given an opportunity to review each other’s facts in advance and, in a video call, agreed on a set of six. In the video, you’ll see those facts presented, with each participant given the opportunity to add a “footnote” to their opponent’s facts. We added four additional rounds to our format to give our participants more time to flesh out their viewpoints.
Here's a document that has all of the sources we used for each fact:
docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRuMU81aB8NSr9…
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Todos los comentarios (21)
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If you’d like to dig through the sourcing for each fact, we created a doc for you: bit.ly/3Owasif EDIT: Here's our previous episode about cannabis legalization: https://youtu.be/8TPaCsQVwA8. I’d love to hear any feedback about our debate format or about any topics you think we should tackle next. Thanks for watching. —Laura
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Good job to Vox, the two doctors, and the moderator. This was absolutely the right way to hold a "debate".
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Being a Canadian, I've heard a lot about this debate. I think the crux of the issue is that our social services are crumbling, which makes MAID a more appealing option for people who have nowhere left to turn. The problem, therefore, is not MAID but the crumbling social services. We should be making housing affordable, healthcare accessible, and other such changes, at which point we will be sure that people accessing MAID aren't doing it because they have no other available options.
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This could be better if they narrowed down the debate to euthanasia for patients with mental health issues since the pro euthanasia doctor just kept referencing terminal illness cases.
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Two professionals in their respective fields discussing their perspectives on a polarizing topic in a calm and constructive manner is such a breath of fresh air. Seriously, please make the a series.
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Honestly i'm impressed on how civilised and respectful the conversation is. Hope Vox does more of this!!!
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it's refreshing to hear people actually talking and not shouting their views at each other
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It’s so much easier to watch a well-informed and respectful debate. Idk when we got used to shouting, heated debates, but we need more like this.
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Uhhh... Vox? What is this? This is astounding! I love dialogue and debate, but in such a polarized world, this type of content is almost non-existent. This is not just excellent journalism, this is a gift to humanity. Thank you for bringing about awareness and knowledge.
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We need more debates where both sides come to the table with facts and respect!
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I never want to watch a debate again that is less well prepared and thought through than this.
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I struggled with major depressive disorder for almost a decade and tried over 10 medications to help as well as therapy. It wasn’t until I tried TMS therapy that I actually improved. I’m glad I waited and had the strength and family support to wait that long.
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I love the way this was set up. However, I almost feel like this is two different conversations. MAID for mental health vs MAID for everything else
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Really incredibly well handled debate - 2 experts in their field, strong establishment of the rules, communicating calmly and openly about the facts on the ground and how these experts disagree with how to interpret these facts. Most importantly for me, there isn’t a mentality of ‘winning’ or ‘losing’ this debate - far too often debates about incredibly serious political topics like climate change are presented as a competition, and it just devolves into cheap point-scoring and shouting, which only serves to entertain, not inform, the audience, and I’m very glad to see a debate system that entirely avoids this mentality.
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No gaslighting, no mudslinging, no bad faith arguments, just two people concerned about people with different views as to how to inherently deal with the situation
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I hope these debates turn in to a series. It's extremely refreshing to see such polarising and important issues being discussed in such a well researched, moderated and respectful way. Kudos to Vox for arranging this thought provoking debate!
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This is it. This is the format that will save us from polarization and political infighting. Please do more Vox!
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Thoughtfully argued! What a great debate structure! Thanks VOX!
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Wow I was and still am for MAID, but hearing that it is easier to get MAID than other treatments is heartbreaking to hear. we need to have the option for other treatments be an actual viable option and not take years to get treatment.
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"Killing people while they are on waiting lists is profoundly immoral." Wow, that quote really spoke to me.
