Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law is one of the most far reaching in the world – and it is scheduled to further expand. A major policy shift on the horizon is that after 2027 people suffering solely from mental illness could be offered access to MAiD. Is the country ready for this? What are the implications?  What are some of the current challenges with MAiD?

Join University of Toronto Magazine editor-in-chief Scott Anderson in conversation with Professor Trudo Lemmens, a leading voice on health law and bioethics, as they unpack one of the most pressing – and polarizing – social issues of our time. Is this a question of rights – or of safeguards and support? What are the risks, and what kind of society do we want to build? 

With mental health systems under strain and vulnerable populations at risk, this timely discussion will dig into what’s at stake as the federal government considers expanding MAiD further.

About the Speaker

Trudo Lemmens is Professor and Scholl Chair in Health Law and Policy. He is cross appointed to the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Joint Centre for Bioethics.

Professor Lemmens’ publications include the co-authored books Medical Law in Canada and Reading the Future? Legal and Ethical Challenges of Predictive Genetic Testing, the co-edited volumes Unravelling MAiD in Canada: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide as Medical Care; Regulating Creation: The Law, Policy and Ethics of Assisted Human Reproduction; and Law and Ethics in Biomedical Research: Regulation, Conflict of Interest, and Liability, as well as numerous chapters and articles in national and international law, policy, science, medicine and bioethics journals.

He has testified before national and international parliamentary committees and courts on his areas of expertise, including as expert witness for the federal Attorney General in the Truchon v. Canada AG case. He has been consulted widely by national and international organizations, including the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization. In the last five years, he was a member of two expert panels of the Council of Canadian Academies: one on access to health data, the other on advance requests and medical assistance in dying. Professor Lemmens is currently a member of the Ontario Chief Coroner’s MAiD Death Review Committee.

About University of Toronto Magazine

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