Family Seeks Probe After 83-Year-Old Dies Under Canada MAiD Program Amid Consent Dispute
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 21
Family Seeks Probe After 83-Year-Old Dies Under Canada MAiD Program Amid Consent Dispute
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 21
Summary
Ontario relatives of 83-year-old Brigitte Stegemann are asking the chief coroner, patient ombudsman and Belleville police to investigate her July 10 MAiD death, saying she may not have clearly consented.
The family says Stegemann had shown cognitive decline, had previously rejected assisted death, and became distraught two days before the procedure when told it would end her life, allegedly saying she had “made a mistake.”
Brigitte Kranendonk, Stegemann’s granddaughter and caregiver, says a care home arranged a MAiD assessment while she was away, and that a doctor used vague language such as giving “medicine” and “peace” rather than explicitly describing death.
The case adds to scrutiny of Canada’s MAiD system, legalized in 2016 and now accounting for about 1 in 20 deaths in the country, with critics questioning whether safeguards protect vulnerable patients.