Canadian Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) and Access to Resources: An Analysis of Media Reports

In Canada, individuals are eligible for medical assistance in dying (MAID) even if they would prefer, but lack access to, standard treatments or resources that would alleviate their suffering. The government does not publicly track such cases, and media reports play a critical role in identifying them. We aimed to analyze media reports to characterize the demographic, medical, and social circumstances of individuals seeking MAID because of difficulty accessing basic resources.

We searched Nexis and Eureka media databases to locate Canadian news articles (English and French) published between 1/2015 to 1/2025 about individuals who considered, requested, or received MAID and were motivated by a lack of access to resources. We analyzed articles by qualitative content analysis.

We identified 37 unique individuals motivated by lack of resources to seek MAID. 15 individuals received, 15 requested, and 7 considered MAID. Thirty-two individuals' cases were reported on between 2021 and 2024. Individuals reported various disabilities and debilitating medical conditions. Resources that individuals reported lacking fell into two categories, healthcare and social services, and included sufficient disability benefits, adequate home care, and timely medical care. Some individuals specifically stated that if they received the necessary resources, they would not be seeking MAID.

That there were 37 unique individuals who sought MAID because of difficulty accessing publicly funded health and social services resources suggests these cases are not rare. Our results emphasize the need to integrate explicit justice considerations into MAID debates, consider the relative priority of MAID among other services, and conduct more systematic monitoring of these cases.