‘Audrey Parker's last message to Canadians’ by Audrey Parker

In this three-minute video, Audrey Parker, a Canadian woman diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, explains how accepting her diagnosis, and her death, has allowed her to live her life ‘on [her] own terms.’ While she is grateful to be able to access medical assistance in dying (MAID) through the Canadian healthcare system, she regrets having to choose to end her life sooner than she feels is necessary out of fear of losing the ability to provide late-stage consent, which was legally required in 2018 when this video was recorded. ‘I would like nothing more than to make it to Christmas,’ she states, ‘but if I become incompetent along the way, I will lose out on my choice of a beautiful, peaceful, and best of all, pain free death.’ Parker appeals to Canadians to get involved with organizations like Dying with Dignity Canada, or to contact their members of parliament in order to have Bill C-14 amended. ‘My last wish,’ Parker says, ‘is that you, fellow Canadians, will help people who’ve been assessed and approved to live without fear of their rights being taken away.’

When medical assistance in dying (MAID) became legal in 2016 in accordance with Bill C-14, some felt its eligibility criteria and legal safeguards were too strict. In early 2020, the Canadian Government undertook to amend Bill C-14, after several years of governmental and public debate. When Bill C-7 was introduced in 2021, it included ‘Audrey’s Amendment’ which waived the requirement for an individual to consent to receiving MAID immediately prior to its being administrated. Parker’s video and media statements played a large role in the passing of this amendment. As scholar Jocelyn Downie observes, Parker’s advocacy, and that others following her death, garnered much support. In Downie’s words, ‘Audrey’s Amendment is a good example of policy-makers responding to public and expert comment on unintended consequences of legislation.’ More recently, the removal of this safeguard has been criticized by those concerned that Canada's MAID regime has become too expansive, and offers few chances for patients to change their minds.