But for a lot of people, especially my patients, and I'm not just talking about MAiD, I'm talking about in life in general, the concept of autonomy is highly limited by what is actually available to them, right? So in terms of what are my options for life might be very different for what my patients' options are.

This month, Kathy and Keri-Lyn are grateful to sit down with Dr. Ramona Coelho to talk about the necessity for safeguards, regarding MAiD and across healthcare systems in general.

Dr. Ramona Coelho is a family physician based in London, Ontario, and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. She began her career providing home-based care in Montreal, working closely with patients facing serious illness, disability, addictions, and end-of-life needs.

Her clinical practice now focuses on people with complex medical, mental health, and social vulnerabilities.

Dr. Coelho is a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. She has served as an expert witness before federal and international parliamentary committees on assisted dying and currently sits on Ontario’s Chief Coroner’s MAiD Death Review Committee.

She is the co-editor of Unravelling MAiD in Canada: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide as Medical Care (MQUP, 2025), and her most recent co-authored work appears in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care (https://spcare.bmj.com/content/early/2026/01/27/spcare-2025-006046).

A recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal, she is recognized for her contributions to medicine and public service. In this conversation, she speaks in a personal capacity.

Links to works cited in episode: Article - Safeguard failures in Canada’s MAiD system https://spcare.bmj.com/content/16/2/333 Book – Unravelling MAiD in Canada: Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide as Medical Care https://www.mqup.ca/Books/U/Unravelling-MAiD-in-Canada2

Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com.

This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

“And through both experiences, what became clear to me is that systems do not only determine access to death, they shape how families are able to show up for one another before and after it.”

Kathy and Keri-Lyn are privileged to share this special February episode in which guest Cindy Lang recounts her story of the important work she does and the loss of two beloved people in her family.

Cindy J. Lang, RSW is a grief and life-transition specialist, registered social worker, and ontological coach in private practice living in Calgary, AB. She supports individuals, families, leaders, and organizations navigating all forms of loss and major life disruption. Her work is shaped by both professional practice and lived experience. Cindy has accompanied loved ones through serious illness, anticipated loss, and death. Cindy also mentors leaders and teams in developing grief-informed communication and more compassionate workplace cultures. Cindy's work is grounded in an understanding that we often care deeply and still feel tender and uncertain in the presence of grief, in ourselves and with one another. She creates spaces rooted in compassion and an understanding of grief as a shared human experience. You can find out more about Cindy and her work at: www.cindyjlang.com Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com. This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.

 ”And so, in my perfect world, over the next decade, we would … really dwell in the grey a little bit more and be honest with one another about how we're making sense of this, about what we feel comfortable with, what we don't feel comfortable with. Because if you can't have those conversations, everything ends up on one side of the divide or the other, and we go forward in a polarised manner.”

In the first episode of 2026, Kathy and Keri-Lyn have the privilege and pleasure of speaking with Dr. Barb Pesut about suffering, Track Two, and finding common ground in the grey.

Barb Pesut is a Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. She holds a Principal Research Chair in Palliative and End of Life Care and has been doing research in MAID since 2017.

Music for Disrupting Death was created by the ever-lovely Sarah McInnis. Sarah is a music therapist, a songwriter, a multi-instrumentalist and End-of-Life Doula. In 2021, Sarah began The Legacy Song Project, writing original songs for folks at the end-of-life, and for folks who have lost loved ones. To learn more about Sarah, visit her website https://sarahmcinnis.com.

This episode of Disrupting Death was produced by Keri-Lyn Durant.