An 84-year-old woman from British Columbia says she was offered medical assistance in dying (MAID) before other treatment options after being taken to hospital with severe back pain — an experience she found shocking and inappropriate.
Miriam Lancaster was transported by ambulance to Vancouver General Hospital in April 2025 after experiencing intense lower back pain. She was later diagnosed with a fractured sacrum, a break in a bone at the base of the spine often linked to osteoporosis.
According to Lancaster and her daughter, Jordan Weaver, a doctor raised MAID as an option while she was still in the emergency department.
Weaver recalled that the doctor acknowledged Lancaster’s pain and then immediately suggested MAID. Both she and her mother, who are practicing Catholics, rejected the idea outright. They say only after refusing were other treatment options, including rehabilitation, discussed.
Lancaster chose to pursue recovery. After about 10 days in hospital followed by several weeks in a rehabilitation program, she regained her strength. Within six weeks, she was well enough to walk her daughter down the aisle at her wedding. In the months that followed, she travelled internationally and even climbed Guatemala’s Pacaya volcano.
Lancaster said the suggestion of assisted death caught her completely off guard. Her focus at the time was understanding and treating her pain, not ending her life.
Her case has become part of a broader debate in Canada over whether doctors should introduce MAID to patients who have not asked about it. Some critics argue that raising the option too early — especially in non-terminal situations — risks undermining trust and shifting the focus away from care and recovery.
In a statement, Vancouver Coastal Health said it could not confirm the specific interaction due to privacy rules but noted that clinicians may use their judgment when discussing care options. However, it also said emergency department staff are generally not expected to initiate conversations about MAID.
Under Canadian law, MAID is available to patients with serious and incurable conditions who are in an advanced state of decline and experiencing intolerable suffering, as confirmed by two medical professionals.
Lancaster said she chose not to file a formal complaint, as she preferred to move on from the experience. She emphasized that aside from the MAID discussion, she received good care and successfully recovered through rest and rehabilitation.
While she respects that MAID is a legal option that may be appropriate for some, she believes the timing of when it is introduced matters. She argued that patients in emergency situations — often in pain, distress, or under medication — are not in the right state to consider such a life-ending decision.
Weaver echoed those concerns, saying her mother’s condition was treatable and not life-threatening. She described the experience as discouraging and questioned whether elderly patients might be unfairly viewed as less worth treating.
The story has sparked mixed reactions online. Some expressed concern about vulnerable patients being presented with MAID too quickly, while others argued that offering the option is not the same as pressuring someone to accept it.
Lancaster maintains that her objection is not to MAID itself, but to how and when it is introduced — particularly in moments when patients are at their most vulnerable.
