Overview
- The Independent reports that Margaret Marsilla was notified on 3 January by a British Columbia law firm that her son, Kiano Vafaeian, had died four days earlier following approval for medical assistance in dying.
- Marsilla says a prior MAID request in 2022 was stopped, after which she helped arrange support for her son, who had Type 1 diabetes, vision loss and depression.
- She says the most recent approval cited blindness, diabetes and severe peripheral neuropathy, an assessment she disputes as not reflective of his condition.
- Canadian MAID rules do not require a terminal diagnosis and allow eligibility when suffering is considered intolerable and not reasonably relievable under conditions acceptable to the patient.
- Coverage cites data indicating 16,499 MAID deaths in 2024, about 5.1% of all deaths, and notes an expansion to include mental illness alone is scheduled for 2027.