America’s friendly neighbor to the north is pioneering new ways to alleviate the suffering of its citizens by helping them die.
That sentence is jarring to write. It must be terrifying to read.
Canada has long been a world leader in the practice of euthanasia, also known as assisted dying.
The country’s MAiD or ‘medical assistance in dying’ program was first legalized in 2016 for the terminally ill and, by 2021, accounted for 3.3 percent of all Canadian deaths.
That year Canada recorded 10,029 deaths by euthanasia. The number is estimated to have reached 13,500 in 2022. The official count has yet to be released.
But now, the MAiD program is ready to grow once again. In March 2024, the right to die will be expanded to include those with “mental health conditions.”
Obviously, the debate over the morality of assisted dying is incredibly sensitive. I do not enter this subject without apprehension.
My father died of stage 5 stage 5 Glioblastoma Multiforme brain cancer, which is considered one of the deadliest diseases in existence.
The median length of survival is 12 to 18 months, with only 25 percent of patients living longer than a year. But neither he nor my family ever considered euthanasia.
My father died of stage 5 stage 5 Glioblastoma Multiforme brain cancer, which is considered one of the deadliest diseases in existence.
That year, Canada recorded 10,029 medically assisted suicides. The number is estimated to have reached 13,500 in 2022. The official count has yet to be released.
Dad survived 14 months from the date of his diagnosis. And I can tell you that the experience of watching someone you love die of a vicious cancer is a specific type of hell.
Those months were the most painful of my life.
They were also among the most important.
I, along with my siblings and my mother, had the privilege of being my father’s caretaker. We took care of him physically, emotionally, and spiritually to the best of our ability.
I wouldn’t give you back for a second.
But that’s not to say that I don’t have sympathy and understanding for those who make a different decision.
I remember the life of Brittany Maynard, who was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma in 2014.
She chose to end her life through assisted suicide and even advocated for its broader legalization in the United States.
“My glioblastoma is going to kill me and it’s out of my control,” she told PEOPLE magazine in 2017.
“I have discussed with many experts how I would die from that and it is a terrible, terrible way to die. So being able to choose to go with dignity is less scary,” he said.
I don’t question your decision. But as Canada expands the practice of state-sponsored assisted dying to those not facing terminal illness, I must ask: Is this the path the Western world wants to take?
Lisa Pauli, a 47-year-old Canadian woman living with anorexia has now drawn international attention for declaring that she will choose physician-assisted suicide as soon as it becomes available to her.
“Every day is hell,” Pauli told Reuters this week. ‘I am so tired. I’ve finished. I have tried everything. I feel like I’ve lived my life.
Lisa Pauli, a 47-year-old Canadian woman living with anorexia has now drawn international attention for declaring that she will choose physician-assisted suicide as soon as it becomes available to her.
At 92 pounds, she looks unimaginably thin. She can clearly articulate her justification for wanting to die, but she is deeply disturbing nonetheless.
‘Other people may think, like, ‘My God, you’re 47 years old. You still have your whole life ahead of you.’ You can change,’ he said. ‘I personally am too tired. I’m not going to change. I don’t want to recover, that is, I don’t want to gain weight. Because recovering is gaining weight, and I don’t want to.’
I cannot imagine the suffering that Pauli must endure. And this column is in no way a condemnation of her.
However, I am deeply alarmed by the policy of granting this power to individuals who, by definition, are mentally ill.
Certainly, the United States tends toward more permissive attitudes when it comes to euthanasia.
In the past five years, the number of US states allowing the terminally ill to end their lives has more than tripled.
Ten states and the District of Columbia have chosen to allow physician-assisted suicide. In Oregon and Vermont, patients no longer need to be state residents.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation removing the requirement that patients sign a final certificate declaring their wish to die, after activists complained that some could lose the ability to consent.
But now, as the mental health crisis explodes, is the West really making it easy for people who are struggling to die?
More than one in five American adults were living with a mental illness in 2021, according to the National Institutes of Health.
That’s almost 58 million people.
A new large-scale study from the UK involving more than 63,000 participants in 16 different countries found that three in 10 girls under the age of 18 suffer from an eating disorder.
What message is being sent to them? That there is a valid, state-approved way to stop their suffering? That they don’t have to fight anymore?
How will this law affect government and medical facilities? Does it tell them that if it’s too hard to treat their citizens, they can go for an alternative?
Surprisingly, that may already be happening in Canada.
In 2022, Christine Gauthier, a disabled Army veteran, testified before the Canadian Parliament that the Department of Veterans Affairs offered her medically assisted suicide instead of an at-home wheelchair ramp she sought for five years.
Gauthier served his country and competed under its flag at the 2016 Paralympics and the Invictus Games.
To suggest that she would consider death is nothing short of a hideous insult.
Finally, doesn’t the inclusion of the mentally ill among those eligible for assisted suicide raise the possibility that fatal mistakes could be made?
In 2022, Christine Gauthier (above), a disabled Army veteran, testified before the Canadian Parliament that the Department of Veterans Affairs offered her medically assisted suicide instead of an at-home wheelchair ramp she sought for five years.
Gauthier served his country and competed under its flag at the 2016 Paralympics and the Invictus Games. To suggest that she would consider death is nothing short of a hideous insult.
In 2019, a 61-year-old Canadian man named Alan Nichols (above), despite the objections of his family, ended his life through assisted suicide.
Again, there is evidence that it is happening.
In 2019, a 61-year-old Canadian named Alan Nichols, over the objections of his family, ended his life by assisted suicide.
Nichols reportedly had a history of depression and was hospitalized over concerns that he was suicidal.
Less than a month after being placed under the care of medical personnel, he requested euthanasia. And it was granted.
The only health condition listed on her application was hearing loss.
“Alan was basically executed,” his brother told the Associated Press in 2022.
In the name of compassion, we have lost our minds.
Human life is precious and the decision to end it should never be taken lightly.
I can only hope that my countrymen look at Canada and see a system that has gotten out of control.
For your sake, and for the sake of all of us, I beg you to reconsider.
