Daughter Says Her Mother Was Euthanized in BC Instead of Getting Psychiatric Care
Roughly four hours after being released from an involuntary psychiatric hold, 61-year-old Donna Duncan received medical assistance in dying (MAID) at her home in Abbotsford, B.C. Donna Duncan, a retired psychiatric nurse who had attempted suicide days earlier, had been approved for MAID after two independent assessors determined that her weight loss and frailty made her death reasonably foreseeable. Her daughter, Alicia Duncan, disputes that assessment, saying her mother was experiencing a psychiatric crisis and needed treatment rather than euthanasia.
TL;DR
- Donna Duncan, 61, received MAID hours after release from a psychiatric hold.
- Assessors determined her death was reasonably foreseeable due to weight loss and frailty.
- Her daughter disputes the assessment, stating she was in a psychiatric crisis needing treatment.
- The daughter believes her mother's suicidal wish was treated as an autonomous medical decision.