Exploring assisted dying policies for mature minors: A cross jurisdiction comparison of the Netherlands, Belgium & Canada.

Autor: Campbell S; Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College St, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada; Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, 155 College St, 7th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada. Electronic address: sydney.campbell@mail.utoronto.ca., Cernat A; Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main St W, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, 100 Main St W, Hamilton, ON, L8P 1H6, Canada., Denburg A; Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College St, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada; Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, 155 College St, 7th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada; Division of Haematology and Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada., Moola F; School of Early Childhood Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada; Grandview Kids Hospital, Canada; Division of Social and Behavioural Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, The University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada., Petch J; Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College St, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada; Centre for Data Science and Digital Health, Hamilton Health Science Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Division of Cardiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton, ON, Canada., Gibson J; Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College St, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada; Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, 155 College St, 7th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 3M6, Canada; Division of Clinical Public Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Health policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands) [Health Policy] 2024 Nov; Vol. 149, pp. 105172. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 24.
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105172
Abstrakt: Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) was decriminalized in Canada in 2016 for individuals 18 years or older who met eligibility criteria. Currently, individuals younger than 18 years are legally permitted to access an assisted death in the Netherlands and Belgium, but not in Canada. To-date, no work has compared factors shaping the policy processes and outcomes in these three countries. Therefore, our objective was to explore the legalities of assisted dying for minors in the Netherlands and Belgium, along with how each jurisdiction arrived at their respective policies and why the trajectory differed in Canada. After screening and compiling peer-reviewed and grey literature, we used Yanow's interpretive method for comparative work to review included materials. We framed findings using Hajer's discourse coalition theory. The Dutch and Belgian contexts relied upon a parliamentary approach in legalizing assisted dying for mature minors that emphasized suffering, whereas Canada's approach was initiated by a Supreme Court of Canada decision and emphasized human rights. While the Netherlands and Belgium viewed mature minors as capable to make decisions about assisted dying, the Canadian position on mature minors' decisional capacity with respect to assisted dying remains unsettled. This work contributes to understanding how context and sociopolitical values shape assisted dying legislations and treatment of mature minors, while highlighting areas requiring further study amid ongoing debate in Canada.
Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest Statement The authors have no conflict of interests to declare.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: