Jocelyn Downie
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 349785 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Jocelyn Downie |
| NOMBRES | Jocelyn |
| APELLIDO | Downie |
| FIRMA | DOWNIE J |
| AFILIACIONES | Dalhousie University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6633-6883 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 21 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 15 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 19 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 2 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 1999 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 2 |
Monitoring medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada
Canada's federal monitoring system for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) commenced in 2018 and was expanded in 2023 to enhance data collection. This article sought to understand the role of monitoring in the regulation of MAiD in Canada. It reports on qualitative interviews conducted with 68 participants from two key groups: MAiD assessors and providers; and "organizational actors" from a range of bodies including government, regulators, profess…
Patients' and Caregivers' Suggestions for Improving Assisted Dying Regulation
INTRODUCTION: Assisted dying (AD) has been legalised in a small but growing number of jurisdictions globally, including Canada and Australia. Early research in both countries demonstrates that, in response to access barriers, patients and caregivers take action to influence their individual experience of AD, as well as AD systems more widely. This study analyses how patients and caregivers suggest other decision-makers in AD systems should addres…
Informal care-givers' attitudes towards medical assistance in dying for persons with dementia
Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is legal in Canada but cannot be accessed through an advance request. Some data suggest that informal care-givers of persons with dementia support the legalisation of advance requests for MAID. Opponents argue that care-givers' support is due to society's failure to address their well-documented burden and unmet needs. To our knowledge, this assumption has never been tested. To fill this knowledge gap, we conduc…
L’assistance à mourir
Euthanasie, suicide assisté, aide médicale à mourir, mort dans la dignité : ces termes, et bien d’autres, sont utilisés à travers le monde pour désigner différents types d’assistance à mourir. Cette diversité terminologique peut créer une certaine confusion au sein des débats universitaires et parmi les actrices et acteurs politiques, notamment quand il n’apparaît pas clairement quel type d’action ou d’inaction l’on cherche à saisir, par qui et d…
Who is Eligible for Voluntary Assisted Dying
Eligibility criteria in voluntary assisted dying legislation determine access to assistance to die. This article undertakes the practical exercise of analysing whether each of the following nine medical conditions can provide an individual with access to voluntary assisted dying: cancer, motor neurone disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, anorexia, frailty, spinal cord injury and Huntington’s…
Social determinants of health and slippery slopes in assisted dying debates
The question of whether problems with the social determinants of health that might impact decision-making justify denying eligibility for assisted dying has recently come to the fore in debates about the legalisation of assisted dying. For example, it was central to critiques of the 2021 amendments made to Canada’s assisted dying law. The question of whether changes to a country’s assisted dying legislation lead to descents down slippery slopes h…
Assistance in dying
Euthanasia, assisted suicide, medical assistance in dying, death with dignity: these and many other different terms are used around the world to capture various types of assistance in dying. This diversity in terminology can create confusion both in academic debates and in policy-making if it is unclear what type of action or inaction is intended to be captured, by whom, and under what circumstances. By defining and contrasting several terms and …
Comparative and Critical Analysis of Key Eligibility Criteria for Voluntary Assisted Dying under Five Legal Frameworks
Eligibility criteria determine a crucial question for all voluntary assisted dying frameworks: who can access assistance to die? This article undertakes a critical and comparative analysis of these criteria across five legal frameworks: existing laws in Victoria, Western Australia, Oregon and Canada, along with a model Bill for reform. Key aspects of these criteria analysed are capacity requirements; the nature of the medical condition that will …
Why Feminist Philosophy (Especially Sue Sherwin’s) Matters
In the not-too-distant past, medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was illegal in Canada. Assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia (which together make up MAiD) were prohibited by the Criminal Code. Many attempts were made to change the law (see Downie 2016). The most famous of these was the case of Sue Rodriguez, who took a Charter challenge of the prohibition to the Supreme Court of Canada (only to lose by the slimmest of 5:4 margins). A number o…
Foreseeably Unclear
Social science and humanities evidence in Charter litigation
Carter v Canada (Attorney General) is a Canadian case that famously struck down the Canadian Criminal Code prohibitions on euthanasia and assisted suicide (now known collectively as medical assistance in dying or MAiD). The most significant issue in the Carter case was that of the status of MAiD. However, this case is also interesting to explore in relation to the issue of the use of expert evidence from social science and humanities researchers.…
Quebec physicians’ perspectives on medical aid in dying for incompetent patients with dementia
Achieving National Altruistic Self-Sufficiency in Human Eggs for Third-Party Reproduction in Canada
To avoid the commercialization of reproduction, the Canadian Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHR Act 2004) prohibits the purchase of human eggs. We endorse this legal prohibition and moreover believe that this facet of the law should not be allowed to have as an unintended consequence an increase in transnational trade in human eggs. In an effort to avoid this consequence, and to be consistent with the AHR Act, we advocate the pursuit of nationa…
The Tale of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada
In the spring of 2012, Assisted Human Reproduction Canada (AHRC)—the federal agency tasked with the oversight of assisted human reproduction in Canada—was abolished through the passage of the omnibus budget bill. This ignominious end was in part a response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s Reference re Assisted Human Reproduction Act. However, as we recount in this article, it was also a result of a series of squandered opportunities to regulate a…
Being Relational
At the heart of relational theory lies the idea that the human self is fundamentally constituted in terms of its relations to others. For relational theorists, the self not only lives in relationship with and to others, but also owes its very existence to such relationships. In this groundbreaking collection, leading relational theorists explore core moral and metaphysical concepts, while health law and policy scholars respond by analyzing how su…
Being Relational
End-of-Life Decision-Making in Canada
The Tunnel at the End of the Light? A Critical Analysis of the Development of the Tri-Council Policy Statement
In 1998, the three major government funding councils put in place the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) to regulate all research involving humans in Canada conducted at institutions funded by the councils. This article examines the process of developing the TCPS, a historic and very important document in Canada's research ethics landscape, and the application of the democratic values of legitimacy, transparency, representation, accountability, …
Glass houses
In this paper I explore the power of money in bioethics research and ask whether, while casting stones regarding financial conflicts of interest in health research, bioethics researchers are in fact living in glass houses. I first review the need for money in bioethics research, the sources of money, and key features of the money (specifically, the amount of money involved and the fact that the money often is embedded, encumbered, and required to…
Country Report Canada
Children and Decisionmaking in Health Research
In March 1998 the Office of Bioethics Education and Research at Dalhousie University hosted a multidisciplinary workshop, “Assent and Dissent in Research Involving Children.” The overall objectives for the meeting were: first, to promote and protect the health and well-being of children by ensuring that potentially beneficial biomedical and health research involving children was not inappropriately precluded; and second, that when such research d…
Assistance in dying
Euthanasia, assisted suicide, medical assistance in dying, death with dignity: these and many other different terms are used around the world to capture various types of assistance in dying. This diversity in terminology can create confusion both in academic debates and in policy-making if it is unclear what type of action or inaction is intended to be captured, by whom, and under what circumstances. By defining and contrasting several terms and …
Comparative and Critical Analysis of Key Eligibility Criteria for Voluntary Assisted Dying under Five Legal Frameworks
Eligibility criteria determine a crucial question for all voluntary assisted dying frameworks: who can access assistance to die? This article undertakes a critical and comparative analysis of these criteria across five legal frameworks: existing laws in Victoria, Western Australia, Oregon and Canada, along with a model Bill for reform. Key aspects of these criteria analysed are capacity requirements; the nature of the medical condition that will …
Quebec physicians’ perspectives on medical aid in dying for incompetent patients with dementia
Who is Eligible for Voluntary Assisted Dying
Eligibility criteria in voluntary assisted dying legislation determine access to assistance to die. This article undertakes the practical exercise of analysing whether each of the following nine medical conditions can provide an individual with access to voluntary assisted dying: cancer, motor neurone disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, anorexia, frailty, spinal cord injury and Huntington’s…
The Tale of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada
In the spring of 2012, Assisted Human Reproduction Canada (AHRC)—the federal agency tasked with the oversight of assisted human reproduction in Canada—was abolished through the passage of the omnibus budget bill. This ignominious end was in part a response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s Reference re Assisted Human Reproduction Act. However, as we recount in this article, it was also a result of a series of squandered opportunities to regulate a…
The Tunnel at the End of the Light? A Critical Analysis of the Development of the Tri-Council Policy Statement
In 1998, the three major government funding councils put in place the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) to regulate all research involving humans in Canada conducted at institutions funded by the councils. This article examines the process of developing the TCPS, a historic and very important document in Canada's research ethics landscape, and the application of the democratic values of legitimacy, transparency, representation, accountability, …
Children and Decisionmaking in Health Research
In March 1998 the Office of Bioethics Education and Research at Dalhousie University hosted a multidisciplinary workshop, “Assent and Dissent in Research Involving Children.” The overall objectives for the meeting were: first, to promote and protect the health and well-being of children by ensuring that potentially beneficial biomedical and health research involving children was not inappropriately precluded; and second, that when such research d…
Country Report Canada
Glass houses
In this paper I explore the power of money in bioethics research and ask whether, while casting stones regarding financial conflicts of interest in health research, bioethics researchers are in fact living in glass houses. I first review the need for money in bioethics research, the sources of money, and key features of the money (specifically, the amount of money involved and the fact that the money often is embedded, encumbered, and required to…
Being Relational
At the heart of relational theory lies the idea that the human self is fundamentally constituted in terms of its relations to others. For relational theorists, the self not only lives in relationship with and to others, but also owes its very existence to such relationships. In this groundbreaking collection, leading relational theorists explore core moral and metaphysical concepts, while health law and policy scholars respond by analyzing how su…
Being Relational
End-of-Life Decision-Making in Canada
The Tunnel at the End of the Light? A Critical Analysis of the Development of the Tri-Council Policy Statement
In 1998, the three major government funding councils put in place the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) to regulate all research involving humans in Canada conducted at institutions funded by the councils. This article examines the process of developing the TCPS, a historic and very important document in Canada's research ethics landscape, and the application of the democratic values of legitimacy, transparency, representation, accountability, …
The Tale of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada
In the spring of 2012, Assisted Human Reproduction Canada (AHRC)—the federal agency tasked with the oversight of assisted human reproduction in Canada—was abolished through the passage of the omnibus budget bill. This ignominious end was in part a response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s Reference re Assisted Human Reproduction Act. However, as we recount in this article, it was also a result of a series of squandered opportunities to regulate a…
Achieving National Altruistic Self-Sufficiency in Human Eggs for Third-Party Reproduction in Canada
To avoid the commercialization of reproduction, the Canadian Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHR Act 2004) prohibits the purchase of human eggs. We endorse this legal prohibition and moreover believe that this facet of the law should not be allowed to have as an unintended consequence an increase in transnational trade in human eggs. In an effort to avoid this consequence, and to be consistent with the AHR Act, we advocate the pursuit of nationa…
Foreseeably Unclear
Social science and humanities evidence in Charter litigation
Carter v Canada (Attorney General) is a Canadian case that famously struck down the Canadian Criminal Code prohibitions on euthanasia and assisted suicide (now known collectively as medical assistance in dying or MAiD). The most significant issue in the Carter case was that of the status of MAiD. However, this case is also interesting to explore in relation to the issue of the use of expert evidence from social science and humanities researchers.…
Quebec physicians’ perspectives on medical aid in dying for incompetent patients with dementia
Why Feminist Philosophy (Especially Sue Sherwin’s) Matters
In the not-too-distant past, medical assistance in dying (MAiD) was illegal in Canada. Assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia (which together make up MAiD) were prohibited by the Criminal Code. Many attempts were made to change the law (see Downie 2016). The most famous of these was the case of Sue Rodriguez, who took a Charter challenge of the prohibition to the Supreme Court of Canada (only to lose by the slimmest of 5:4 margins). A number o…
Social determinants of health and slippery slopes in assisted dying debates
The question of whether problems with the social determinants of health that might impact decision-making justify denying eligibility for assisted dying has recently come to the fore in debates about the legalisation of assisted dying. For example, it was central to critiques of the 2021 amendments made to Canada’s assisted dying law. The question of whether changes to a country’s assisted dying legislation lead to descents down slippery slopes h…
Assistance in dying
Euthanasia, assisted suicide, medical assistance in dying, death with dignity: these and many other different terms are used around the world to capture various types of assistance in dying. This diversity in terminology can create confusion both in academic debates and in policy-making if it is unclear what type of action or inaction is intended to be captured, by whom, and under what circumstances. By defining and contrasting several terms and …
Comparative and Critical Analysis of Key Eligibility Criteria for Voluntary Assisted Dying under Five Legal Frameworks
Eligibility criteria determine a crucial question for all voluntary assisted dying frameworks: who can access assistance to die? This article undertakes a critical and comparative analysis of these criteria across five legal frameworks: existing laws in Victoria, Western Australia, Oregon and Canada, along with a model Bill for reform. Key aspects of these criteria analysed are capacity requirements; the nature of the medical condition that will …
Who is Eligible for Voluntary Assisted Dying
Eligibility criteria in voluntary assisted dying legislation determine access to assistance to die. This article undertakes the practical exercise of analysing whether each of the following nine medical conditions can provide an individual with access to voluntary assisted dying: cancer, motor neurone disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, anorexia, frailty, spinal cord injury and Huntington’s…
L’assistance à mourir
Euthanasie, suicide assisté, aide médicale à mourir, mort dans la dignité : ces termes, et bien d’autres, sont utilisés à travers le monde pour désigner différents types d’assistance à mourir. Cette diversité terminologique peut créer une certaine confusion au sein des débats universitaires et parmi les actrices et acteurs politiques, notamment quand il n’apparaît pas clairement quel type d’action ou d’inaction l’on cherche à saisir, par qui et d…
Patients' and Caregivers' Suggestions for Improving Assisted Dying Regulation
INTRODUCTION: Assisted dying (AD) has been legalised in a small but growing number of jurisdictions globally, including Canada and Australia. Early research in both countries demonstrates that, in response to access barriers, patients and caregivers take action to influence their individual experience of AD, as well as AD systems more widely. This study analyses how patients and caregivers suggest other decision-makers in AD systems should addres…
Informal care-givers' attitudes towards medical assistance in dying for persons with dementia
Medical assistance in dying (MAID) is legal in Canada but cannot be accessed through an advance request. Some data suggest that informal care-givers of persons with dementia support the legalisation of advance requests for MAID. Opponents argue that care-givers' support is due to society's failure to address their well-documented burden and unmet needs. To our knowledge, this assumption has never been tested. To fill this knowledge gap, we conduc…
Monitoring medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada
Canada's federal monitoring system for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) commenced in 2018 and was expanded in 2023 to enhance data collection. This article sought to understand the role of monitoring in the regulation of MAiD in Canada. It reports on qualitative interviews conducted with 68 participants from two key groups: MAiD assessors and providers; and "organizational actors" from a range of bodies including government, regulators, profess…
Political science (12 obras) · Law (11 obras) · Psychology (8 obras) · Law (7 obras) · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues (7 obras) · Sociology (7 obras) · Medicine (6 obras) · Economics (4 obras) · Multicultural Socio-Legal Studies (4 obras) · Assisted suicide (3 obras)