Canadian judge halts medically assisted death of woman in rare injunction

A British Columbia judge has issued a rare, last-minute injunction barring a woman from accessing euthanasia after physicians in her home province refused to approve the request.

- Leyland Cecco

The injunction, granted to the woman's partner, blocks the Vancouver physician Ellen Wiebe, or any other medical professional, from "causing the death" of an Alberta woman within the next 30 days.

The court order comes as Canada remains in a fractious debate over the expansion of medical assistance in dying, or Maid. While official figures show the vast majority of people accessing Maid have terminal illnesses, critics worry that a small, but growing proportion of the cases reflect poverty and social inequality pushing people to end their lives.