Alberta bill would limit medically assisted dying to patients facing 'reasonably foreseeable' death

New legislation would prevent anyone in Alberta from accessing medical assistance in dying (MAID) if they are unlikely to die within the next 12 months.

Bill 18, the Safeguards for Last Resort Termination of Life Act, if passed, would prevent doctors or nurse practitioners from administering MAID to patients whose sole underlying condition is mental illness. The act would also require a direct family member of the patient to be present for administration of MAID in almost all cases.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said at a news conference on Wednesday she thinks the federal guardrails around MAID are weakening as the government considers broadening the eligibility.

“These escalating factors put the safety and well-being of vulnerable individuals at far too grave a risk,” Smith said.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery tabled the bill in the legislature Wednesday.

Should the legislation pass as written, it would make Alberta the first Canadian jurisdiction to place these types of limitations on federally permitted assisted deaths.

The legislation would also pre-emptively limit access to MAID in cases where the federal government has signalled it could make changes.

Although federal law requires a person requesting MAID to have the mental capacity to request it, Quebec in 2024 began allowing people diagnosed with incurable illnesses to request access to MAID in advance, while they are lucid. Alberta’s legislation would disallow such advanced requests.

The federal government has also passed legislation slated to allow people suffering solely from mental illnesses to request MAID, beginning in March 2027.

Smith told reporters the Alberta government is “highly skeptical” of the federal government legalizing MAID for mental illnesses alone.

Dr. Ramona Coelho, an Ontario family doctor who was at the news conference to support the legislation, said she sees examples of some health-care workers offering marginalized patients MAID instead of comprehensive support for poverty or social isolation that would help ease their suffering.

“Patient suffering can be addressed, and their lives can greatly improve if we take that time,” she said.

Bill 18, if passed, would also put new requirements and limits on the health-care providers who administer MAID. 

Doctors and nurse practitioners would be barred from referring a patient out-of-province to be assessed for MAID eligibility. They would be prohibited from suggesting MAID to any patients as an option — the patient would have to request information on MAID first.