This article originally appeared in the National Review. Below is an excerpt from the article.
By Daniel Dorman, February 26, 2024
Canada’s health-care system offers suicide to individuals who might still lead long and fulfilling lives if offered the proper care.
Over 13,000 Canadians died by euthanasia, or “provisions of MAID” (Medical Assistance in Dying) in 2022. Almost 45,000 Canadians have now been euthanized since 2015, when the supreme court of Canada legalized assisted death. Euthanasia accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country, and the rate of “provisions of MAID” is accelerating year over year. This rapid expansion is due, in part, to the passing of legislation in 2021 that expanded the eligibility for MAID to those “whose death is not reasonably foreseeable.”
This month, the Canadian government delayed the expansion of MAID for the mentally ill until 2027, citing that “the health system is not yet ready for MAID where the sole underlying condition is mental illness.” The obscure statement poses a frightening question: What does a health-care system that’s “ready” to euthanize the mentally ill look like?
The government is wrong to try to expand euthanasia to the mentally ill, and they’re dressing up their (delayed) attempts to do so in pseudo-technocratic language to hide the absurdity of the idea that killing a patient is an acceptable response to suicidality. In fact, the expansion of euthanasia in Canada has already relied entirely on ambiguous and dishonest political language.
The euthanasia regime in Canada has been criticized by a range of medical experts and even been condemned by a U.N. human-rights expert worried about the disproportionate effect of Canada’s legislation on individuals with disabilities. According to a recent study, most Canadians oppose the expansion of MAID in Canada as an alternative to adequate mental health services.
Yet, as recently as October 18, the Liberal Party voted down a bill that could have permanently removed the eligibility of those suffering solely from “a mental disorder” from receiving MAID. In line with public opinion, the bill sought to recognize “that vulnerable Canadians should receive suicide prevention counselling rather than access medical assistance in dying.” Canadians recognize that suicide isn’t the answer — their government apparently does not.
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