{"id":18340,"date":"2026-06-16T12:31:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T16:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/?p=18340"},"modified":"2026-06-16T14:29:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:29:21","slug":"when-medical-assistance-in-dying-goes-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/when-medical-assistance-in-dying-goes-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"When Medical Assistance in Dying Goes Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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June 3, 2026 cover<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n<\/span><\/b><\/o:p><\/p>

\u201cThe\nnarrative that MAiD provides a peaceful, beautiful death every time is false. (\u2026)\nInformed consent requires disclosure of complications and adverse outcomes, not\njust promises of a beautiful death.\u201d
\n
\nWe support this response by Dr. Ramona Coelho to the front-page National Post\narticle of June 3, 2026 (<\/span>available on her X account<\/a>).<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Below is an\nexcerpt of the report published under the title \u201cHelp me\u201d: When MAiD Goes\nWrong.<\/i><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

The article\nrecounts a medical error and a complication that occurred during the\nadministration of medical assistance in dying (MAiD). These examples challenge\nthe narrative that MAiD is always synonymous with a peaceful death, as do the\nfollowing two studies cited by journalist Sharon Kirkey:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

1)\nMedications and dosages used in medical assistance in dying: a cross-sectional\nstudy <\/b>(2022)<\/o:p><\/b><\/span><\/p>

https:\/\/www.cmajopen.ca\/index.php\/content\/10\/1\/E19<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Excerpt:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

\u201cThere were\n41 complications reported (1.2% of cases), most of which fell into 1 of 2 main\ncategories: problems obtaining intravenous access or loss of intravenous access\nafter the MAiD procedure was started (23 cases), and prolonged time to death,\nnecessitating a second kit (16 cases). The reasons for use of a second kit\n(e.g., intravenous access failure, drug underdosing, accidental wastage or\nbreakage of medication) were not reported. .\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

2)\nNarratives of Dignity in Complex MAiD Bereavement Stories <\/b>(2025)<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

https:\/\/muse.jhu.edu\/article\/979952<\/a>
\n
\nExcerpt:<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

\u201cThe\nanalysis identified three dignity narratives in participants’ stories: the\nDignified MAiD Narrative, the Traumatic MAiD Narrative, and the Unjust MAiD\nNarrative. \u2026 (The latter two) provide counter perspectives that challenge\nthe notion that MAiD unequivocally leaves a legacy of a dignified, good death.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Should\ninformed consent not include disclosure of expected outcomes, including\nspecific risks and potential complications?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


\n“HELP ME”: WHEN MAID GOES WRONG<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Full text: <\/span>https:\/\/nationalpost.com\/news\/maid-complications-assisted-suicide<\/a><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>


\nDoctor administered death is portrayed as a rapid, peaceful and comfortable\ndeath, yet potential complications are a recognized risk that some experts\nworry are not being fully discussed with people as a routine part of obtaining\ninformed consent.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

The possibility of \u201cfailed MAID\u201d was\nhighlighted last week in media reports of the 2024 death of Bradley Stewart, an\nOntario man who resumed breathing after being pronounced dead by a London,\nOnt., family doctor and MAID provider \u2014 a traumatic experience his siblings who\nwitnessed his mishandled death are still recovering from.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

The doctor, James Maclean, didn\u2019t administer\nthe customary sequence of drugs, and left before Stewart resumed breathing.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

The case has raised questions about what\nhappens when medical assistance in dying doesn\u2019t proceed as planned.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

No medical procedure has zero risk of\ncomplications or unexpected outcomes, said Dr. Ramona Coelho, a family\nphysician and former member of the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario\u2019s\nMAID death review committee. \u201cYet some MAID clinicians publicly portray MAID\ndeaths as uniformly peaceful, beautiful and free of complications.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

\u201cThis does not present an accurate picture of\nreality and risks influencing decisions about MAID\u201d based on an idealized\nportrayal of assisted death, Coelho said.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Another case reviewed by the Ontario coroner\u2019s\noffice and obtained by National Post describes the death of \u201cMr. D.,\u201d an anonymous\n87-year old man with congestive heart failure who uttered \u201chelp me\u201d while\nundergoing MAID in 2023.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Two assessors agreed that Mr. D met all\neligibility for MAID, that it was a voluntary request and that he was suffering\na grievous and irremediable medical condition.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

The doctor administered the first drug,\nmidazolam, a Valium-like sedative. Next lidocaine was injected to numb the vein\nand prepare it for the next injection, propofol, a coma-inducing drug that can\nburn and sting upon injection.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Midazolam is meant to put people in a deep\nstate of relaxation. People often fall asleep.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

However, \u201cDuring the first three minutes. Mr. D\nexperienced signs of physical and psychological distress, including groaning,\nguarding (tensing muscles) and grimacing,\u201d reads the case review.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

\u201cMr. D did not experience expected sedation\u201d\nfrom the midazolam. Instead, he remained conscious.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

(\u2026)
\n
\nIn a survey of 335 Canadian emergency doctors, three reported having seen MAID\npatients come to emergency because of IV failure.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

A 2022 study of 3,557 MAID deaths in Ontario\nand Vancouver between 2016 and 2020 found complications in 41 cases (1.2 per\ncent). Most fell into one of two categories, the authors reported: obtaining or\nmaintaining IV access, or prolonged time to death requiring a second kit of\nMAID medications.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Overall, death occurred within three to 15\nminutes in most cases. The shortest documented time to death after the first\ninjection was one minute; the longest, 127 minutes.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

Another small study involving five family\nmembers who had complex MAID bereavement experiences found that while some\nwit\u00adnessed a peaceful death, other accounts challenged the narrative \u201cthat MAID\nunequivocally leaves a legacy of a dignified, good death.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>

(\u2026)
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJune 3, 2026 cover<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe
\nnarrative that MAiD provides a peaceful, beautiful death every time is false. (\u2026)
\nInformed consent requires disclosure of complications and adverse outcomes, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[290],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18340"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18367,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18340\/revisions\/18367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vivredignite.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}