Calgary judge rules woman can proceed with MAID despite dad’s pleas

A Calgary judge has ruled a 27-year-old woman should have access to medical assistance in dying despite her father's attempts to block her request.

A Calgary judge has ruled a 27-year-old woman should have access to medical assistance in dying despite her father’s attempts to block her request.

A publication ban protects the identities of the father and daughter. In court documents, the daughter is named as MV and the father as WV.

MV lives with her father and told him in December that she had been approved for medical assistance in dying (MAID).

Her date of death was scheduled for Feb. 1, but her father was granted an interim injunction the day before it was set to take place.

According to court documents, the father said he believes that his daughter is vulnerable and is not competent to decide to take her own life. He also said that she is “generally healthy” and believed that her physical symptoms are from “undiagnosed psychological conditions.” The diagnoses described in court are autism and ADHD.

A written decision issued Monday from Justice Colin Feasby said it is MV’s choice whether she chooses to live or die.

“MV’s dignity and right to self-determination outweigh the important matters raised by WV and the harm that he will suffer in losing MV,” Feasby’s decision read.

The judge said MV could not be approved for MAID if her sole condition was mental illness or disability.