Esteemed storyteller Robert Munsch has been approved for medically assisted dying in Canada.
Munsch, who has over 80 titles feature classics like The Paper Bag Princess, was diagnosed with cognitive decline in 2021 and is affected by a Parkinson’s diagnosis.
He noted that he is still considering a final day, but mentioned he would move forward "once I begin experiencing significant difficulty holding conversations."
Canada began allowing medical assistance in dying in 2016 for people with life-ending conditions. In 2021, the law was changed to cover those with significant ongoing medical problems, also under non-imminently fatal cases.
Munsch has sold over 80 million works across the continent and his works have been translated into at least 20 languages—including Arabic, Spanish and Anishinaabemowin.
In 1999, Munsch was inducted of the prestigious national order. In 2009, he received a place on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.
Munsch explained that his decision was shaped by seeing his sibling die from ALS, referred to as motor neurone disease.
He said, "Medical teams prolonged his life via numerous procedures. I felt, allow nature to take its course."
Under Canadian law, individuals who are adults must satisfy a number of criteria to be approved for medical assistance in dying.
These include having a "serious and incurable illness", making a "unpressured decision" that is independent of coercion, and being in an "profound phase of irreversible decline in ability".
Multiple unbiased medical professionals must then assess the individual to ensure that every necessary criteria are fulfilled.
Munsch's publishing house stated that his move to discuss frankly about medically assisted dying "highlights why Robert's work continues to resonate with many generations."
Munsch's child, Julie, wrote that her father's plan to pursue end-of-life care was determined in 2019.
Julie called the feature as "great", but added that "it doesn’t mention is it indicated my dad is in poor health, and certainly not that he's going to die anytime soon."
As per legal requirements, the person must be capable of give explicit agreement on the date of their passing.
Munsch stated, "It’s essential I choose the moment when I can still ask for it."
Assisted death represented almost five percent of deaths in Canada in 2023, based on the newest official government statistics.
Roughly 96 percent of the over 15,000 individuals who received medical assistance in 2023 had a outcome deemed "expected soon", due to critical diagnoses such as cancer.
