I Have Been Present for Just One MAiD Situation
Dale Perkins, Victoria, BC
Volume 41 Issue 4, 5 & 6 | Posted: June 2, 2026
The question that you pose is about public institutions being open to assisting individuals wishing to end their life by asking for public medical assistance. Of course private institutions can set their own policies in this regard, including religious institutions. Public institutions are more difficult to regulate, and are subject to a particular ethic and moral standard of those institutions. We rarely are given the opportunity to determine ethical standards in our public institutions. So I doubt any standards practised by our public institutions can be prescribed or predetermined.
Choosing to die is rarely a decision individuals decide. Most of us want to live as long as we can enjoy living, but some of us experience horrendous pain and excruciating suffering and seriously would like it to end as soon as possible. For them having medical assistance is a real positive. However for the rest of us we need to seriously ask what right have we to decide how they’re permitted to die?
At this particular moment we are debating whether providing medical assistance to die is permitted. Of course, for the individual agonizing this question they will always have options to end their life. i.e., poisoning themselves or deliberating overdosing, or stepping in front of a train or speeding vehicle, etc. Nevertheless, how we permit the public institutions to handle the issue remains a troublesome issue.
Personally I have been present for just one MAiD situation. The person in question had made the decision and he wanted to say goodbye to friends and arranged a social gathering of his choosing. Each of us said our personal goodbye to him, and the following day a medical person administered the drug and my friend’s life ended. It was both a very difficult yet precious moment for me, and in the current debate I really haven’t a firmly set opinion.
My sincere hope is that we can remain loving and kind to all the central players and not get so entangled that we lose the essence of love.
Dale Perkins,
Victoria, BC
Dale Perkins, Victoria, BC