Abbotsford police investigating (MAiD) euthanasia death

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Duncan's daughters, Alicia and Christie

CTV National News Medical Correspondent, Avis Favaro, reported on April 26 that Abbotsford police are investigating the (MAiD) euthanasia death of Donna Duncan (61). Favaro reported:

The case involves Donna Duncan, a nurse and mother who died on Oct. 29, 2021. It appears to be among the first assisted-death cases being reviewed by a police unit in Canada, although federal officials don’t keep statistics on when such cases are reported to police.

Her daughters, Alicia and Christie Duncan, say they requested a police investigation after what they claim were troubling circumstances around their mother's case that raise questions about why she was approved for medical assistance in dying (MAID).

Duncan's daughters told Favaro that they never want what happened to their mother to have again. Favaro reports:

On Feb. 25, 2020, Duncan was in a car accident, near her home in Abbotsford. The following day at a walk-in clinic, she was diagnosed with a concussion.

But as COVID-19 restrictions were implemented across Canada, her daughters say her medical care and rehabilitation were curtailed.

"It was March and that's when the COVID shutdown happened. So she didn't have treatment for months and months,"

Medical documents obtained by the sisters and shared with CTV News also show that Duncan complained about headaches, bright lights, and difficulty concentrating, watching TV, or using a computer. In July 2020, she was identified as having post-concussion syndrome. Her daughters suspect the problems were compounded by stay-at-home orders during the pandemic.

Doctors did not treat Duncan's health problems but approved her for MAiD. Favaro reports:

In early October, a psychiatrist in Abbotsford, Dr. Shah Khan, saw Donna and reported in medical records that while the source of her physical problems was unclear, a somatic disorder was likely part of the picture. This condition causes an extreme focus on physical symptoms such as pain that cause emotional distress. Treatments include therapy, antidepressants, and treatment by a specialist in mental health, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Weighing just 82 pounds, Duncan kept losing weight and was using a walker. Her common-law partner, Rick Hansum, said she had been suffering for months and was rapidly losing weight despite consuming 1,500 calories a day.

"She couldn’t wear clothes because they hurt. Pureed food and shakes felt like broken glass. People don’t realize the pain she was in," Hansum told CTV News in a phone interview.

Duncan's asked Dr. Parin Patel, for MAiD but he refused and noted that she needed treatment for her mental health. Duncan then asked Fraser Health for MAiD. Favaro reports:

Alicia and Christie say they didn't learn of their mom's plans for a medically-assisted death until Oct. 22, when Duncan texted them to say she had been assessed and approved by one MAID practitioner with Fraser Health: Sean Young, a nurse practitioner. The second approval was from Dr. Grace Park, a MAID practitioner also with Fraser Health. Park visited Donna in person on Oct. 24 and signed the second approval.

MAID laws in Canada require two health practitioners to approve someone for a medically-assisted death. There are criteria doctors or nurse practitioners must follow, including discussion of whether other measures to treat the patient’s illness have been taken.

With the two signatures, Duncan’s death was scheduled for two days later, on Oct. 26.

Duncan's daughters immediately obtained an injunction pending a psychiatric consult. Duncan received a psychiatric consult on Oct. 26 by Dr. Zia Ui Haque who, according to Favaro, stated:

he “saw no convincing evidence of depression (or) anxiety” and deemed Duncan competent to make the choice "even though she may be making an unwise choice about medical assistance in dying.” He also noted that she had “not explored other avenues including pain relief or any other medical intervention,”

On October 27, she had another psychiatric assessment by Dr Khattak: 

who found Duncan "in distress," said that her mood was “depressed” and that she had “limited insight into her problem.”

Duncan agreed to be transferred to the Chilliwack hospital where Duncan was given a third psychiatric assessment where she was declared competent and released at 4:30 pm. Duncan died that evening at 9:30 pm by euthanasia (MAiD).

Alan Nichols

The Chilliwack hospital is where Alan Nichols was assessed, approved and lethally injected. Nichols was not terminally ill, but depressed. Nichols family has also demanded an investigation into Alan's death.

The family hopes that no other family experience a similar death. Duncan's daughter Alicia told Favaro:

“If my mother had not been suffering from mental illness, she would [not have] thought this. She is a two-time cancer survivor. She would have survived this, but she was not in a place mentally to be able to make that decision subjectively,”

Abbotsford police, the physician and nurse practitioner who approved the death and the family doctor have all refused to comment on the case. Fraser health offered condolences.

Fraser health is the same British Columbia health authority that demanded that the Delta Hospice Society provide euthanasia. When the Delta Hospice Society refused to kill their patients, the BC Ministry of Health defunded the Delta Hospice Society and expropriated their 10 bed hospice and placed it under the control of Fraser Health.

Sadly this is not the first family who have wondered how a family member was killed by (MAiD) euthanasia in Canada.

Canada's law does not provide effective oversight. People requesting to be killed do not need to try effective treatments for their condition, they only need two medical practitioners who approve the death, the two medical practitioners only have to be "of the opinion" that the person meets the "criteria" of the law and there is no mechanism in the law to challenge a questionable approval.