Young people's perspectives on assisted dying and its potential inclusion of minors.

ASSISTED suicide laws; HEALTH policy; ASSISTED suicide; PATIENTS' attitudes; TEENAGERS' conduct of life; ACTION research; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; RESEARCH funding; PHILOSOPHY; ATTITUDES toward death; REFLECTION (Philosophy); ADOLESCENCE

Assisted dying legislation is available to support adult deaths in multiple international jurisdictions. In Canada, a parliamentary committee has recommended extending Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) legislation to include 'competent mature minors'. Even though such a policy change would affect young people, to date formal discussions about MAID for minors have excluded them. No empirical studies have elicited youth perspectives on including them in future legislation. This qualitative descriptive study uses focus groups to explore young people's perspectives on MAID and its potential extension to include minors using methodological and theoretical commitments to participatory research and children's agency. Our participants explored philosophical and medical dimensions of MAID, including pain and suffering, the choice to die, and how MAID enables a peaceful, controlled death. They unpacked the concept of maturity vis‐à‐vis age and a child/adult binary, using these reflections to posit safeguards for ensuring minors' MAID requests would be fairly evaluated. Finally, they explored relational dimensions of dying, paying particular attention to the impact of MAID on grievers. Our results illustrate that young people are capable and keen to contribute toward discussions and decisions about MAID. Our study supports the participation of young people in any extension of MAID, as well as in other high‐stakes matters that may affect them, challenging dominant assumptions that underestimate their capacities to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Children & Society is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)