Philosophical Reasoning in an Imperfect World – Daniel Weinstock on the Ethics and Politics of MAID in Canada

Assisted – The Podcast

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) has been legal in Canada since 2016, and is a widely accepted end-of-life procedure throughout the country. Philosopher Daniel Weinstock has been an observer of, and sometimes participant in, the consolidation and evolution of the legal framework governing MAID. In this conversation with Assisted Lab’s Vanessa Rampton, he shares his insights into Canada’s trajectory, the specificities of Québec’s place within it, and how norms and values change over time. He invites us to think about how to pass from individual stories to sound societal policies, and the country’s experience of assisted dying law-making as a court-led process. As many Canadians grapple with the sense that MAID’s eligibility should be curtailed in the light of failings within the health care system, this conversation reflects on to what extent our ideal social organization affects our ability and responsibility to provide MAID or not. In doing so, it also highlights the value of philosophical reasoning in an imperfect world.

Sound Credits

Sound bites used in Intro and Outro:

• Susan McReynolds, Radio Show 'Cross Country Checkup', 17 April 2016
• Claire Fourcade, Interview on Le Figaro TV, 18 December 2023 (© Points de Vue – Figaro Live 18.12.2023 / Groupe Figaro)
• Petra Sitte, Session of the German Bundestag, 2 July 2015
• Pablo Echenique, Session of the Spanish Congreso de los Diputados, 11 February 2020
• Emmanuel Macron, Reception of the members of the 'Convention citoyenne sur la fin de vie', 3 April 2023
• Carolina Darias, Press Conference, 24 June 2022
• German Constitutional Court, Judgment of the Second Senate, 26 February 2020
• Fiona Bruce, Debate in the UK House of Commons, 11 September 2015

Music used in Intro and Outro:

prazkhanal, Whip, Pixabay, 30 April 2022