Assisted suicide for the mentally ill? Canada reportedly moving forward with controversial new law

OTTAWA, Canada (TND) — Mentally ill individuals in Canada will soon be able to seek assistance ending their lives as the country weighs changes to its medically assisted death laws.

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) will expand in Canada in March to include any individual “whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental disorder,” The Toronto Star reported. The deadline has spurred debate in the country’s House of Commons as politicians argue over the appropriateness of such a measure

Conservative Member of Parliament Ed Fast is leading the charge against the expansion of the law, arguing that there is a lack of medical consensus indicating mentally ill individuals need such drastic treatment. Fast's bill to require the MAID expansion to undergo further review failed last week.