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. 2024 Sep;20(SP):83-93.
doi: 10.12927/hcpol.2024.27410.

Public Deliberation for Ethically Complex Policies: The Case of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada

Roma Dhamanaskar  1 , Julia Abelson  2
Affiliations

Public Deliberation for Ethically Complex Policies: The Case of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada

Roma Dhamanaskar et al. Healthc Policy. 2024 Sep.

Abstract
in English, French

Almost 50,000 people in Canada have had a medically assisted death since federal legislation was passed in 2016. Still, the debate about the permissibility of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) continues to rage. The central role of shared values and ethics in public policy making emphasizes the importance of engaging the public, particularly around heavily value-laden issues such as MAiD. Public deliberation, a mode of engagement that fosters sustained and reasoned discussion between participants, is well-suited to addressing such ethically contentious policy issues. In this paper, we review recent efforts to engage the public on assisted dying within and outside Canada and explain how public deliberation could contribute substantively to MAiD policy making.

Près de 50 000 personnes au Canada ont eu une mort par assistance médicale depuis l'adoption de la loi fédérale en 2016. Néanmoins, le débat sur la permissibilité de l'aide médicale à mourir (AMM) est toujours en cours. Le rôle central des valeurs et de l'éthique dans la formulation des politiques publiques souligne l'importance de la participation du public, particulièrement en ce qui concerne les questions fortement liées aux valeurs comme l'AMM. La délibération publique, un mode de participation qui favorise une discussion soutenue et raisonnée entre les participants, est bien adaptée pour aborder ce type de politiques controversées sur le plan éthique. Dans ce document, nous examinons les efforts récents pour mobiliser le public sur l'aide à mourir au Canada et à l'étranger et nous expliquons comment la délibération publique pourrait contribuer de façon substantielle à l'élaboration des politiques de l'AMM.

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