If nothing is done, Maid will be permitted as of March.
However, earlier this week, Canada's Justice Minister Sean Fraser revealed the government will be introducing legislation to continue to rule it out under the Criminal Code indefinitely.
A professor of bioethics in the Faculty of Medicine and Memorial University of Newfoundland, Daryl Pullman, said he thinks it was a good decision.
"After all, we're talking about ending another human being's life, and I think we should have the strictest sort of oversight and criteria around that," he said, adding the declaration by the government in Ottawa "seems to say well, let's slow down here at least in this space and take a look at it."
He believes there have been broader issues with the eligibility criteria for MAID since the legislation allowing it was passed in 2016. He called them "fuzzy" and said he hasn't been satisfied with revisions.
"I mean, generally, Canadians are in favour of, you know, of having access to medical assistance in dying, but I think the vast majority of Canadians believe that it's for people with terminal illness nearing their death," he said. ...
Decision creates gap in service: palliative specialist
An associate professor in medicine and palliative care specialist, Susan MacDonald, said it's a very complicated issue. It's also one people in the province will continue to hear about.
Patients need to be subject to "grievous and irremediable" suffering, she said, where what's been tried for help hasn't worked and what they're willing to try is not likely to be any more successful in ending their suffering ....
In remarks in Ottawa this week, Fraser said one of the standing concerns feeding into the decision was the inadequate access to mental health care in many Canadian communities. ...
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A professor of bioethics in the Faculty of Medicine and Memorials, University of Newfoundland, Daryl Pullman has been concerned about MAID criteria since its launch. (Mark Quinn/CBC).