Case reference: MAID-XX-2022-KK6V · Province not stated in sources · Applied for MAID; outcome not publicly known · Recorded by the register as a MAID victim
Who she is
She was a woman in her late 80s, a wife and mother, cared for in hospital by Dr. Nisha Fernandes, a general internist who described her to Parliament’s MAID committee. In her younger years she ran and skied.
What happened
She came to hospital in pursuit of MAID and was admitted because she said she could not cope at home. She had fatigue, poor appetite and limited mobility from arthritis, but “she has no terminal illness or foreseeable death. Hence she was looking for a second MAiD assessor,” Dr. Fernandes wrote.
Why they were pushed toward MAID
Dr. Fernandes described fear of ageing and of being a burden: “This woman was open about her sense of being a burden on her husband who was also elderly, feeling that it was unfair for him to have to take care of her when he had his own health care concerns.” She would often repeat that “they [her family] are better off without me”. Dr. Fernandes wrote that providers who sensed patients were pursuing death out of “depression, anxiety, loneliness and psychosocial factors” still “felt obligated to refer to the MAiD committee.”
What her doctor says
“Our elderly citizens require companionship and support, reassurance and validation of their value in being members of our society because of who they are and not for what they can or can’t do,” Dr. Fernandes wrote.
What this case shows
An isolated woman in her late 80s who felt she was a burden was steered through the MAID process. Her case shows loneliness and ageing treated as eligibility.
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