There Is No Such Thing as Being Pro-MAiD

Debunking the false dichotomy opponents of MAiD want you to believe exists

The discourse surrounding MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) in Canada parallels the conversation about abortion rights in the United States. Let me explain:  

Imagine a spectrum with extreme positions on either end. On the far right, you have those who believe that abortion should never be allowed under any circumstances—not even in cases of rape or incest, and rarely even when the mother's life is at risk. This represents the extreme right stance in many American states. 

Now, imagine the far left of this spectrum. Those on the far right might claim that this is where you would find unrestricted access to abortions, including so-called "birth day abortions", and even the promotion of abortion. Such claims have been made by prominent Republicans like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. These assertions, of course, are egregiously false. In reality, the majority of Americans (63%)—across both major parties—believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. This places most people in the centre of the spectrum—neither completely banning abortion nor promoting it. 

This middle-ground, pro-choice stance is shared by the vast majority of American liberals, and an increasing number of conservatives. It is rooted in the belief that a woman should have the right to make her own decisions about her reproductive health, with only reasonable, limited, and necessary restrictions on this right.

Sound familiar? It should, because these are the same claims that anti-MAiD activists make towards those that support MAiD. For example, in one of his recent podcasts, Jordan Peterson launched an attack on MAiD by stating “If the MAiD people have their way…”, as if implying that those of us who support MAiD are pushing an agenda to make everyone choose MAiD or to force it on those we believe shouldn’t live any longer. This notion is simply absurd. But when you are losing the moral and legal argument, and your views are being rejected by the vast majority of Canadian residents, you have to resort to extreme arguments and claims, hoping to scare a few people back to your side. As American conservatives are discovering, that strategy only works for so long before you're forced to change tactics.   

As in the abortion debate in America, instead of an extreme right/left dichotomy, the real divide in the MAiD debate is between an extreme right and a moderate middle. In the middle ground, we advocate for individuals' rights to make informed decisions about their own lives and deaths within a framework of reasonable restrictions and safeguards. If someone meets the criteria and chooses MAiD, they should have the right to access it. Conversely, if they do not want MAiD, they should not be pressured into it. 

Our position isn’t about encouraging or discouraging the choice of MAiD; it’s about respecting personal autonomy when it comes to how much intolerable and irremediable suffering a person is willing to endure, and allowing those that meet the strict MAiD eligibility and safeguard criteria to end their suffering, if they chose to. Nothing more, nothing less.