TORONTO -- Canada has arguably the world's most permissive system of euthanasia — the practice of doctors and nurse practitioners killing patients with an injection of drugs at their request. Canada allows euthanasia for people who aren't terminally ill but are suffering unmanageable pain. As Canada pushes to expand euthanasia and more countries move to legalize it , health care workers here are grappling with requests from people whose pain might be alleviated by money, adequate housing or social connections.
And internal data obtained exclusively by The Associated Press from Canada’s most populous province suggest a significant number of people euthanized when they are in unmanageable pain but not about to die live in Ontario’s poorest areas. Here’s a look at the main takeaways from an AP investigation into euthanasia in Canada, commonly known there as medical assistance in dying, or MAiD. Canada allows euthanasia for people with “irremediable suffering” from serious but nonfatal medical conditions and disabilities .
After euthanasia was legalized in 2016, doctors and nurses set up email discussion groups as confidential forums to discuss potentially troubling cases, with limited patient details. They're now run by the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers, an educational and research organization. Dozens of messages provided to the AP by a participant in the forums — on condition of anonymity, due to the confidential nature of the messages and .
