through bill c-7, however, the government is seeking to expand maid beyond “end-of-life circumstances” for canadians with grievous and irremediable illnesses and disabilities whose suffering is intolerable to them. put coarsely, the government will enable the deaths of persons with disabilities in circumstances where their life expectancy is otherwise open-ended. it is taking this unprecedented step solely on the basis of one non-binding trial court decision that it has refused to appeal.
no other canadian group, no matter the suffering of its individuals, is considered expendable and offered maid by the government because of its personal characteristics. it would be barbaric for the government to offer maid exclusively to any other marginalized minority, such as persons of indigenous descent, whose intolerable suffering is caused by historical institutional and social failures. why should it be less barbaric to offer maid exclusively to persons with disabilities, whose suffering disproportionately results from a lack of social assistance and institutional support?
for this reason, disability-rights organizations are essentially unanimous in their opposition to bill c-7. yes, some individuals with disabilities suffer; some would request access to maid if offered the opportunity. but so would many other individuals in marginalized groups. this doesn’t mean the government should target these groups as recipients of maid instead of addressing the underlying structural factors causing their suffering. on the whole, the empirical evidence confirms that if provided appropriate support, the lives of persons with disabilities are as rich and happy as those of any other individuals.
by expanding maid for canadians with disabilities (but not for other canadians), the government sends the powerful and discriminatory message that canadians with disabilities — and
only
these canadians — are unessential. by rushing the debate on maid, the government sends the further message that it doesn’t care.