A coalition of disability rights organizations has launched a Charter challenge against a part of Canada鈥檚 law on medical assistance in dying, calling it an 鈥渁bandonment鈥� of people with disabilities.

The group announced Thursday that it had filed a notice of application to challenge what鈥檚 known as track two of the MAID law, which it argues has resulted in premature deaths.

Under the law, patients whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable but whose condition leads to intolerable suffering can apply for a track-two assisted death. Track one, in contrast, involves MAID applications from those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.

The group alleges some people with disability are seeking assisted death due to social deprivation, poverty and a lack of essential supports. It argues MAID should only be available to those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.

鈥淎 law that allows people with disabilities to access state-funded death in circumstances where they cannot access state-funded supports they need to make their suffering tolerable is grossly disproportionate,鈥� the coalition claimed in its filing against the federal government in Ontario鈥檚 Superior Court.

鈥淭here is no deprivation that is more serious and more irrevocable than causing someone who is not otherwise dying to die.鈥�

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice called MAID a 鈥渃omplex and deeply personal issue.鈥�

鈥淭he government of Canada is committed to ensuring our laws reflect Canadians鈥� needs, protect those who may be vulnerable, and support autonomy and freedom of choice,鈥� Ian McLeod wrote in an emailed response to The Canadian Press. 鈥淲e will further present the government鈥檚 position in our submissions in court.鈥�

The coalition behind the Charter challenge includes national disability rights organizations Inclusion Canada, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, Indigenous Disability Canada and the Disabled Women鈥檚 Network of Canada. It also includes two individual plaintiffs.

Krista Carr, executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada, said track two of MAID has shown that people with disabilities need to be far better supported.

鈥淭he law has led people with disabilities ending their lives with so much life left to live because Canada has failed and refuses to provide the support they need,鈥� she said at a news conference where the groups detailed their legal challenge.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 compassion. It鈥檚 abandonment.鈥�

The group does not oppose MAID at large, but is against the specific track two part of the law because it 鈥渟ingles out鈥� people with disabilities, Carr argued.

The coalition alleges in its legal application that because track two does not require treatment options to be exhausted before accessing MAID, it may 鈥渋ncentivize death鈥� over other options for people with disabilities.

鈥淒eath should not be a solution for disabled people who experience intolerable suffering but are otherwise not at the end of their lives,鈥� it argued.

Carr said there are deeper systemic issues people with disabilities face that the government should address, such as a lack of accessible housing, limited employment opportunities and discrimination in the health-care system.

鈥淲hat we need is a right to readily available disability supports and funding, not a quick and readily available pathway to a state-funded death,鈥� Carr said.

Heather Walkus, national chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said the government needs to do more to listen to people with disabilities.

鈥淧eople with disabilities are being not just pushed to the margins, but driven off the cliff unless services and supports are in place,鈥� she said in an interview.

Walkus, who has multiple sclerosis and vision loss, said she recently sought treatment for a hip injury and was asked by a medical professional, unprompted, if she鈥檇 considered accessing MAID 鈥� something she found 鈥渟tunning.鈥�

鈥淚 don鈥檛 suffer because of my disability,鈥� Walkus said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 other people鈥檚 perceptions, it鈥檚 the physical environment, the attitudinal environment, the policies and the support services, or lack of them 鈥� that鈥檚 what disables me and puts me in a position of suffering, not my disability.鈥�