Blog Post #3 – Inquiry Project – Round #1 of Research

My inquiry question is “why do people choose/use Medical Assistance in Dying?”

My first round of research will be focused on looking at what the chemicals are that causes the patient’s heartbeat to slow down. I will be researching about creating the drug, and how it is given to the patient in the best possible way.

Medical Assistance in Dying became legal in Canada in June 2016. Since then, there has been so much research done concerning the drugs/chemicals given to patients during the process of using Medical Assistance in Dying. Researchers and scientists found that a chemical called barbiturate are usually very effective for assisted dying. Other than barbiturates, there is the possibility of using a drug called opioid. However, they are slightly less reliable drugs because the duration of the dying process is unpredictable, even after high doses. The same applies to benzodiazepines. To create the desired result, just the right amount of the above chemicals/drugs would be combined. Of course, only professional scientists would be doing this part. If something was done incorrectly, something unexpected may happen.

Surprisingly, no medication is fed to the patient. The chemicals and drugs are prepared into a needle beforehand, and injected into the patient’s vein very quickly. The patient would be asleep and their death is incredibly peaceful and painless as their heart stops beating. This way of doing things is a lot easier and more efficient because there is no struggle. A lot of paperwork is required to be completed beforehand, and to stop the whole process right at the last minute would be a whole waste of everyone’s time. This way, everything would be over as soon as it started and there would be less pain for everyone. However, a patient must be terminally ill and have no way to be cured for their decision to be put to death available.

These are some sources that I used:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10600041/                                                                                                                                             https://www.cmajopen.ca/content/10/1/E19                                                                                                                                             https://camapcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/OralMAiD-Med.pdf