Name: Should Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) be Available to People with Mental Illnesses?
Start: 2026-02-19T12:00:00-07:00
Location: Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization

Should Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) be Available to People with Mental Illnesses?

Since the legalization of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in 2016 and its subsequent expansion in 2021, Canada has been at the forefront of global debates about assisted dying. The most contentious issue at present is the pending inclusion of mental illness as the sole underlying medical condition (MI-SUMC). Now postponed twice, it is set to take effect in March 2027. The decision to delay the expansion of MAID MI-SUMC was framed as a matter of readiness, allowing further consultation and the development of proper safeguards. Yet it also reflects an uneasy national consensus, which suggests that the ethical framework of MAID for physical illness might not be so easily extended to cases of mental illness. In this talk, I provide an overview of the discourse on MAID for mental illness. My aim is to consider the distinctive ethical questions that it raises, as well the potential implications for public policy.
Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Dunn
Nicholas Dunn is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lethbridge, where he is also a Research Fellow in the Critical Thinking and Citizen Engagement (CTCE) Lab and an Affiliate Faculty member in the Centre for Feminist Research (CFR). He regularly teaches courses in Biomedical Ethics, and his current research is on the ethics of MAID for mental illness. He has wide ranging philosophical interests, drawing particular inspiration from thinkers like Immanuel Kant and Hannah Arendt. He has published on the philosophy of mind, social and political philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics. With Martina Orlandi (Trent University), he recently co-founded the Canadian Association for the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence (CAPAI). He received his PhD from McGill University in 2021.
Date/Time: Thursday, February 19, 2026. The presentation begins at 12 noon & concludes at 1 pm.
Cost is free, donations however, are gratefully accepted.
Location: SACPA sessions are held at Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization (LSCO), Atrium Dining Room, 500 - 11 Street South, Lethbridge
Lunch and Refreshments: If you like, please arrive early to patronize the LSCO cafeteria and enjoy their excellent variety of good-value food/drink options in the Atrium Dining Room ahead of the session