With all going on in the world right now, I figure we could all used some good news. Last week, CBC News published an article about Gerald and Coby Goguen, a couple from New Brunswick, who were able to pass away hand in hand earlier this year.

Married for 41 years, Gerald and Coby were both battling cancer in the months leading up to their deaths. Through medical assistance in dying (MAID) the couple were able to relieve their suffering on their own terms, together. Their daughter, Lee, decided to share her parents’ story with CBC News to share their experience going through the process.

Currently, in order to be eligible for MAID, a person must satisfy the following criteria:

• be 18 years of age or older;
• be capable of making health care decisions;
• be eligible for publicly funded health services;
• have a grievous and irremediable medical condition, which means:
  • The patient has a serious and incurable illness, disease, or disability;
  • The patient is in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capabilities;
  • The patient is enduring physical or psychological suffering, caused by the medical condition or a state of decline that is intolerable to the person and cannot be relieved under conditions that they consider acceptable;
• be making a voluntary request; and
• provide informed consent to MAID.

For a person whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable, informed consent means they have provided their consent after having been informed of all means available to relieve their suffering, including palliative care.

For a person whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable, informed consent means:

• they have been informed of other means available to them, including counselling, mental health supports, disability supports, community services and palliative care;
• they have been offered consultation with relevant professionals, as available and applicable; and
• they have discussed these means with the medical or nurse practitioner and given serious consideration to these means.

Further, a candidate whose natural death is not reasonably foreseeable must be assessed by two independent medical practitioners over a period of 90 days.

Lee was described in the article as an initial skeptic of MAID. However, having seen her parents go through the process, she has now changed her mind. Both her parents were thoroughly assessed for MAID before they received approval.

In the article, Lee is quoted saying “I have never experienced a death where I have had this much closure”.