Alberta dad asks judge to block his daughter's euthanasia, saying the 27-year-old's autism makes her ineligible, in latest chapter of Canada's mass lethal injection crisis

An Alberta man has asked a judge to block his 27-year-old daughter's doctor-assisted suicide, saying she's not eligible because of her autism and other mental health problems.

The father, known as WV, cannot be identified under a court order. He seeks a judicial review of the case.

But lawyers for the woman, known as MV, who lives with her dad, says he shouldn't be allowed to interfere in her decision, which was approved by doctors.

The case spotlights the dramatic rise in euthanasia deaths in Canada since the procedures, known as MAiD, became legal in 2016.

The father-and-daughter euthanasia case is being heard at Calgary Courts Center in Alberta

Canadian officials are even considering allowing sick children and the mentally ill to opt for lethal injections.

Sarah Miller, the dad's lawyer, urged a court in Calgary this week to extend an injunction that had been used to block MV's planned assisted suicide on February 1.

Miller said in a legal brief that the woman 'suffers from autism and possibly other undiagnosed maladies that do not satisfy the eligibility criteria for MAiD,' according to the Calgary Herald.

The daughter also suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to the father, who says euthanasia is not the answer to her problems.

The daughter's request for assisted suicide, made last year, has been approved by three medical professionals.

Miller says there are 'genuine concerns with respect to impartiality,' and that MV has been swayed into making her life-ending decision.

'There's no evidence before this court that she has an irremediable condition,' Miller wrote.

Alberta Health Services says euthanasia is a 'sensitive and emotional' issue for people in the province 

Lawyer Austin Paladeau says the dad cannot keep his daughter 'alive against her wishes'  

The court has to step in now, as a review would be pointless after MV is euthanized, says the brief.

Justice Colin Feasby calls the case 'vexing'

The daughter's lawyers Austin Paladeau and Evan Jovanovic say the euthanasia request is a matter for MV and her doctors.

The father does not have the right to intervene, they said.

'He's at risk of losing his daughter and while this is sad, it does not give him the right to keep her alive against her wishes,' said Paladeau, according to CBC.

Feasby called the case 'more vexing than most.'

He has yet to decide whether to allow MV to end her life, or to order a judicial review into her doctors' decisions.

Feasby said he expected to reach a decision quickly, but that it would likely be challenged and end up in the Court of Appeal.

Many Canadians support euthanasia and the campaign group, Dying With Dignity, says procedures are 'driven by compassion, an end to suffering and discrimination and desire for personal autonomy.'

Canada has among the highest rates of assisted dying in the world

More than 99.9 percent of Canada's MAiD procedures are carried out by a doctor

Rights groups say the country's regulations lack necessary safeguards, devalue the lives of disabled people, and prompt doctors and health workers to suggest the procedure to those who might not otherwise consider it.

The number of MAiD deaths jumped 31.2 percent to 13,241 between 2021 and 2022, official numbers show.

Some 44,958 people have received assisted deaths since the federal MAiD law was introduced in 2016.

Canada's road to allowing euthanasia began in 2015, when its top court declared that outlawing assisted suicide deprived people of their dignity and autonomy. It gave national leaders a year to draft legislation.

The resulting 2016 law legalized both euthanasia and assisted suicide for people aged 18 and over, provided they met certain conditions:

They had to have a serious, advanced condition, disease, or disability that was causing suffering and their death was looming.

The law was later amended to allow people who are not terminally ill to choose death, significantly broadening the number of eligible people.

Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's liberal government, Canada has repeatedly made it easier to access euthanasia

The number of MAiD deaths in Canada has risen steadily by about a third each year

Critics say that change removed a key safeguard aimed at protecting people with potentially decades of life left.

Today, any adult with a serious illness, disease, or disability can seek help in dying.

Officials in February delayed plans to expand MAiD access to those with mental illnesses, kicking a decision back to 2027.

There are also efforts to make euthanasia available to 'mature minors.'

Euthanasia is legal in seven countries — Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain — plus several states in Australia.

Other jurisdictions, including a growing number of US states, allow doctor-assisted suicide — in which patients take the drug themselves, typically crushing up and drinking a lethal dose of pills prescribed by a physician.

In Canada, both options are referred to as MAiD, though more than 99.9 percent of such procedures are carried out by a doctor. The number of MAiD deaths in Canada has risen steadily by about a third each year.