Sunday, May 4, 2025

MAID - Dangers of Self-Administration Requirement

Different jurisdictions that permit MAID vary dramatically in terms of whether they permit/use self-administration. All MAID in the United States is self-administered by the patient. While legally permitted, almost zero MAID in the Canada is self-administered by the patient. And in Australia it is about 50%.   

A new article points out advantages of clinician administration:

  1. Capacity can be confirmed at time of administration
  2. Fewer risks of medications getting into the wrong hands
  3. Fewer risks of side effects, risks to patient

Another recent article similarly observes:

the success record for self-administered MAiD—that is, people swallowing a cocktail of lethal drugs—is decidedly more mixed, when compared to euthanasia. Higher failure rates; a higher rate of complications; and longer, drawn-out deaths . . . death by lethal injection is highly preferable

On the other hand, clinician administration limits access because the patient must schedule around the clinician's availability. And there may not be sufficient clinician resources to support MAID in this way.  



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