It's something that I've been thinking about a lot since the expansion of eligibility for MAID to people with disabilities who are not at end of life.
As someone who had most of my K-to-12 education at a school for kids with physical disabilities, I find that the latest expansion of eligibilities for a state-sanctioned death particularly chilling. Roughly half of the kids at our school had a life-limiting condition like muscular dystrophy, which at that time had a life expectancy of 14 to 18 years.
Every student in that school grew up knowing that some of us would live longer than others, but we also knew that all of us would live with the best quality of life possible until we died. This is not the message that Canadian kids with disabilities are growing up with in this “brave new world” of MAID.
For a mature minor, they are more likely going to hear that “It's only natural that you're depressed and you're tired of your life. You're disabled. Maybe you should go get MAID.”
I feel for kids with disabilities in this country. I fear for kids with disabilities in this country.