'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
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.