'I feel positive about the whole thing': Growing number of Maritimers opting for medical assistance in dying
Five years after it was introduced in Canada, it seems more Canadians are seeking a doctor's assistance in ending their own lives.
The national number broke through 10,000 last year, with a growing number of Maritimers adding their names to the list.
Sheila Sperry is semi-retired after years of advocacy work with the group Dying with Dignity, but is still more than happy to talk-about the cause.
It was one she picked-up after losing her husband to ALS a little more than ten years ago -- a difficult decline and death that changed the direction of her life.
Now, five years after MAID was introduced in this country, she's feeling good about where it's gone.
"I feel very positive about the whole thing," Sperry told CTV News from her home in Dartmouth.
Controversial when it was introduced, the former Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth described doctor assisted death as one of the most difficult moral issues of our time.
"Euthanasia, as we often refer to it as 'mercy killing.' Of course, when you put in the word 'mercy' it sounds like you're doing a good thing," the Most Rev. Anthony Mancini told CTV News in March of 2016.
"Thou shalt not kill" cannot be more evidently put," he said.
Five years later, moral reservations about the issue seem to be falling by the wayside, with a growing number of people opting for a doctor's assistance in ending their lives - a number that topped more than 10,000 last year.
According to an extensive report from Health Canada, some 792 Nova Scotians have used the service, 655 New Brunswickers and 111 Prince Edward Islanders, for a total of 1,558 over the five years.
As a percentage of the total deaths in Canada, the latest number is a little more than 3 per cent, but it, too, has been rising.
“That's such a little percentage of the population though," said Sperry.
Although some parts of the country have already matched or surpassed rates in parts of Europe, where the practice has been in place for over two decades, Sperry says more work needs to be done, especially for advance requests.
"And this is really, really important for people who have any kind of dementias, those types of things," she said. "So, personally, that's the thing I really, really want."
Sperry and other advocates are also waiting for word on on expanding MAID to include so-called 'mature minors' and those with underlying mental illness.
Ongoing work for someone semi-retired, but still passionate about a cause that continues to steer the direction of her life.
Correction
This article is a corrected version. The previous version attributed the Health Canada report to Satistics Canada.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.