Audrey Parker

In this video statement, Audrey Parker appeals to Canadians to have the MAID laws in place in 2018 changed. Parker felt that she was obliged to receive MAID earlier than necessary due to her fear that she would lose the ability to provide late-stage consent, one of the law’s original stipulations. Audrey’s Amendment was introduced in 2021 eliminating the requirement of late-stage consent.

Liz Carr (writer/presenter), James Routh (director)

This BBC documentary follows actor and disability campaigner Liz Carr as she explores reasons why assisted dying, which she calls assisted suicide, should not be legalised in the UK. It is unusual both for constituting a mainstream programme that openly opposes legalisation of assisted dying, and for doing so using humour.

Benjamin Kempf (director) and Jann Preuss (writer)

Erika who suffers from cancer and her healthy husband Ruedi wish to die together by assisted suicide. When the lethal drug is ready, Ruedi is overcome with doubt, and the two argue. Ruedi ultimately drinks the deadly substance as well and lies down in bed with his wife. This short film, the first to explore double suicide in organised assisted suicide in Switzerland, is highly ambivalent.

The Fifth Estate (CBC News), Gillian Findlay

This documentary explores medical assistance in dying (MAID) in Canada as Parliament prepares to remove the exclusion in the law that does not allow people to access MAID if their sole criteria for access is a mental illness. The documentary takes a critical stance, introducing viewers to instances where MAID was seemingly approved for non-medical reasons or in reaction to mental health crises.

City News

This documentary from City News follows the stories of Cheryl Romaire and Jennifer Monahan as they consider medical assistance in dying. Their stories occur against the backdrop of recent changes in Canadian law that expanded access to assisted death for non-terminal patients, like Cheryl and Jennifer, who live with conditions that cause them chronic pain but that are not terminal.

Kevin Eastwood (Director and Producer)

This 2016 documentary provides a behind-the-scenes view of the legal team at the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association as they bring the Carter case to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Carter case led to the legalization of assisted death in Canada and this change in the law is presented in a favourable light through the filmmaker’s editorial choices.