This month marks the tenth anniversary of the Carter v. Canada decision which legalized  “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAiD).

Just over 47 per cent of replies either disagreed (17 per cent) or strongly disagreed (30 per cent) that “the government of Alberta should create more safeguards to provide oversight to MAID decisions in Alberta.”

It is becoming clear that persons with dementia are among those at greatest risk of being discarded, dismissed, and discounted. But what is the value of persons with dementia in our lives? And what might we miss if we exclude them?

This October, Québec implemented a law allowing advance directives for MAiD for patients with capacity-limiting illnesses. This means people can choose MAiD in advance, based on assumptions of how they think they’ll feel later. It’s like asking a kid what they want to be when they grow up and assuming they’ll feel the same when they’re older.