What People Who Choose Assisted Death Actually Say

Conversations with Coleman

The Free Press

Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.8 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2026

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2016, Canada legalized assisted dying for the terminally ill. Since then, the law—medical assistance in dying, or MAID—has expanded dramatically—to people with chronic but non-terminal conditions, with disabilities, and potentially those with mental illness as the sole underlying condition. Rupa Subramanya, The Free Press’s Canada correspondent, has spent years reporting on this slippery slope, interviewing patients, doctors, and families along the way. She discusses with Coleman where the line should be, what some of the strangest assisted dying cases reveal about the system, and what Canada’s experience should tell the rest of the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to another episode of Conversations with Coleman. My guest today is Rupa Subramanya.
0:06.2	Rupa is a writer for the free press who focuses on Canada. She has a weekly column aptly titled
0:12.1	This Week in Canada. In this episode, we talk about Canada's assisted dying law, known as
0:18.5	Maid, which stands for medical assistance in dying. We talk about how a law
0:23.2	originally intended for people with terminal illness has expanded to include lots of people with
0:29.0	serious but not terminal ailments. We also talk about the ethics and tradeoffs involved in
0:35.4	assisted dying laws in general. So without further ado,
0:39.2	Rupa Subramanya.
0:45.1	I want to tell you about a podcast I think you're going to appreciate. It's called
0:51.1	Unpacking Israeli History. If you follow the news about Israel, you're just getting
0:55.7	headlines. But headlines are just a tiny slice of a long, complicated, and genuinely fascinating
1:02.6	story. One of the things I care about on this show is engaging seriously with complexity,
1:07.5	rather than flattening it. That's exactly what host Dr. Noam Weissman does on
1:12.1	unpacking Israeli history. He dives deep into the events, the people, and the moments that
1:17.7	shaped Israel past and present, with genuine empathy and a willingness to explore multiple
1:22.6	perspectives. And when he brings in guests like philosopher Micah Goodman or journalist
1:27.3	Havivretettig Gore,
1:28.4	they add real depth to the conversation.
1:31.5	It's deeply researched storytelling for people who want to understand Israel rather than just
1:35.8	confirm what they already think.
1:37.9	In today's climate, that's rare and it matters.
1:41.4	Find unpacking Israeli history on your favorite podcast app or YouTube and
	...

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