When I attended a pro-life oratory contest and heard a few speeches about euthanasia–a rather rare topic in a contest dominated by speeches about abortion–I was surprised to learn that approximately 45,000 Canadians chose medically assisted death from 2016 to 2022. My fellow pro-lifers gravely shared how assisted suicide has grown in Canada, how it is gaining ideological traction in the United States, and why the philosophy behind it is false. I couldn’t help but think, “Why don’t I, as a pro-lifer, talk and think more about this issue?”
Even though fighting against abortion should be a top priority, with 65 million preborn babies being killed in America since 1973, euthanasia is another significant end-of-life issue we must tackle. In fact, if we care about abortion, we must also care about euthanasia, as both are unnatural terminations of life. Abortion is the intentional killing of an unborn baby in the womb, while euthanasia is the intentional killing of someone who’s been born–usually someone who is elderly, disabled, or mentally ill–either through direct action or omission. Both deny the dignity of life in their own ways, and Canada is unfortunately leading other countries in legalizing euthanasia with their increasing acceptance and encouragement of medical suicide. By examining Canada’s actions in this area, we can better know what we are up against and why euthanasia is ultimately a corrosive disease in our society.
Canada’s Actions
In 2015, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that banning assisted suicide took independence and dignity from Canadian citizens, and Parliament was given one year to draft legislation that would legalize the practice. The following year, Canada’s Medical Assistance In Dying program (also known as MAID) went into effect amid high criticism and controversy. Only those who are aged 18 and older with a terminal illness (with their death being “reasonably foreseeable”) were eligible to the program.
Over 1,000 people were granted an assisted death in 2016, and the numbers continued to grow with over 10,000 assisted deaths taking place in 2021. Canadians broadly support at least some access to assisted death, according to opinion polls; Dr. Stefanie Green, president of the Canadian Association of Maid Assessors and Providers, expressed the popular Canadian belief well when she said, “Almost every single time I deem a patient eligible, that patient stops worrying about how they’re going to die and starts wondering how they’re going to live…It is objectively therapeutic to give someone the option.”
Canada expanded MAID even further in 2022 when two people from Montreal launched a legal challenge due to their degenerative, though not terminal, diseases. This court ruling made Canada one of the few countries, along with the Netherlands and Belgium, to allow assisted suicide for those without terminal illness, but “serious disabilities” nonetheless. This included those who suffered solely from mental illness, though their applications would be delayed for two years while the appropriate safeguards were set up. Scrutiny and doubt concerning this expansion loomed throughout the country.
Then the country started a program to euthanize prisoners in accordance with the MAID law. Though the numbers of prisoners that have been euthanized so far have been low, with nine prisoners dying as of March 2022, Canada is still the international leader in this practice. A Canadian prisoner referred to as “James,” who was in a study about medical assistance in dying in Canadian prisons, once said, “If you’re doing a long sentence and you’re never gonna get out, and the parole board’s always turning you down, and your CO and the CMTM parole officers are saying ‘no, no, no,’ then you’re stuck doin’ time for the rest of your life. If the assisted dying is an option, it should be looked at, especially if there’s no chance of you ever getting out.”
Canada is now in the process of further expanding it’s assisted suicide program to include more Canadians with mental illness. When the country’s government first announced this expansion in 2021, many spoke out against it, believing that this vulnerable population could be easily coerced or exploited through the offer of assisted death. As a result of this global scrutiny, the expansion of MAID has been temporarily delayed; this delay was meant to last until March of this year, but it is being further delayed to 2027. Nevertheless, this is not stopping Canadians from pursuing applications due to disabilities, poverty, or long wait times for necessary treatment.
As the years have gone on, Canada’s assisted suicide program has become less about ending a life that is “bound” to end, and more about ending a life that simply seems unlivable. In September of 2022, a Canadian man named Les Landry went public with his consideration of MAID due to his struggles with poverty and homelessness. He was very clear that he didn’t truly want to die, but that he saw no other option, explaining, “MAID is when the pain of living is more than the fear of death. How do you shut out the switch to both emotional and physical pain in poverty? This is for myself. I turned 65 on May 2nd and lost all [my] disabilities benefits and [I’m] now a senior in poverty. I am not going to live my life like this.” A doctor approved his request. Landry pointed out that it was easier for him to find medical help to be killed than it was to find help to live.
Tracey Thompson has a similar story. Due to long-term COVID complications and immense financial strain, she applied for euthanasia, believing that there was no other choice, saying, “I won’t be able to maintain housing and I’m not well enough to live on the street. I don’t understand how a society that supposedly has universal health care gets an international reputation for taking care of its citizenry, when that is obviously not true for poor [or] disabled people.”
One suffering Canadian combat survivor struggling with PTSD and recovering from a brain injury called Veterans Affairs, seeking treatment, only to be unexpectedly lectured about assisted suicide. He was asked whether he had thought about killing himself with the help of a doctor, and the employee continued to suggest assisted suicide even after the veteran repeatedly said that he was not interested. These three stories are just a few examples of how Canada has encouraged assisted suicide to an unprecedented point, even to the point of pushing the disabled and impoverished to choose death over life.
The Pro-Life Response
Pro-lifers have responded to this shocking development by pointing out several disturbing ideological aspects of voluntary euthanasia. The practice is often motivated by a desire to mercifully put a person out of their pain, as well as to grant them dignity and autonomy. As the infamous Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a U.S. based physician who killed 130 people seeking suicide, once said, “I believe in the fundamental right of an individual to decide when and how to die.” Even if the motivation to assist in killing another person is founded on good intentions, it doesn’t make the practice morally right.
Assisted suicide distorts the role of healthcare in our society. Rather than going into a doctor’s office to receive life-enhancing or even life-saving treatment, one might be suggested suicide. This may be out of mercy, but it may also be motivated out of the fact that true healthcare costs much more than killing. After all, there have been many situations in which insurance covers assisted suicide, but not chemotherapy treatment. Furthermore, the drugs used in assisted suicide haven’t always led to peaceful deaths. Barbiturates are used commonly, and they are also used on criminals who are receiving the death penalty; overdoses of these drugs have led to extreme muscle spasms, feelings of terror, and more.
We must ask ourselves – what confers value upon the life of a human being? What makes every life worth living? Ultimately, the answer is not health, success, happiness, or a great many years left; after all, we all lose these things at one point or another. The value of our lives is simply founded upon the truth that it is a gift granted to us by God, not that it is full of joy or wellbeing. No one should ever be left thinking that their life is no longer worth living or that no one needs them anymore, and these thoughts shouldn’t be encouraged by the very healthcare that is supposed to make our lives better. As University of Alberta ethics professor Dr. Brendan Leier stated, “I don’t think that anyone should ever end their life simply from despair – despair of either hope, or despair of alleviation from pain. Despair is never a great situation that anyone should act from. That’s my concern and that’s my consideration that any decision from despair should be avoided, and we should facilitate avoiding.”
We, as a species, naturally fear pain and suffering; we’ll do anything we can to avoid it, and sometimes this leads us to want to end our lives because we see no other way to survive. What if, however, as a society, we started to recognize that our suffering, whether it be physical or mental, is never a waste? We can’t have light without darkness in this world, and if we encourage the most vulnerable in our society to simply opt out rather than helping them live, how are we not caving into hopelessness? Instead of focusing so much on helping people die with dignity, why don’t we help people live with dignity? Bunny Wilder, a disabled person who was interviewed on the topic, succinctly said, “No one who wants to live should have death paid for by the government when the government won’t pay for them to live.”
My favorite literary and TV show character Sherlock Holmes once said in his Sherlock iteration, “Taking your own life. Interesting expression — taking it from who? Once it’s over, it’s not you who’ll miss it. Your own death is something that happens to everybody else. Your life is not your own. Keep your hands off it.” Ultimately our lives are not our own; according to studies, over 100 people are impacted by a single suicide. No matter your terminal illness, no matter your mental suffering, no matter your physical hardship – you are needed and you are unique. Your life has dignity, and it is certainly wrong for governments and societies to try to convince people that the sooner they die, the better.
We all play a part in creating a culture of life. What can you do to fight against suicide, both doctor-assisted and not?
- Do your research and learn about how to recognize when people are suicidal; know the risk factors and be aware of people in your life that are showing the symptoms of suicidal ideation.
- Don’t give into the stigma by refusing to talk, share, or post about your own mental health issues or the topic at large; normalize the conversation and make others welcome.
- Train yourself on intervention methods in order to prepare yourself for a situation in which a suicidal person has a conversation with you about their suffering; attending workshops like safeTALK or ASIST can help.
- Speak up about Canada’s euthanasia problem and advocate for better healthcare and societal practices that will help suffering people live with dignity.
Let’s all work together in creating a society that recognizes the dignity of life.
Photo by Rollz International on Unsplash
I love history, Middle Earth, writing, cinema, and Jesus. I hope to use the gifts He has given me to spread the Truth about His love and protect those in the womb.
Canada Tries to Convince People to Choose Assisted Suicide
Mylee Kann
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When I attended a pro-life oratory contest and heard a few speeches about euthanasia–a rather rare topic in a contest dominated by speeches about abortion–I was surprised to learn that approximately 45,000 Canadians chose medically assisted death from 2016 to 2022. My fellow pro-lifers gravely shared how assisted suicide has grown in Canada, how it is gaining ideological traction in the United States, and why the philosophy behind it is false. I couldn’t help but think, “Why don’t I, as a pro-lifer, talk and think more about this issue?”
Even though fighting against abortion should be a top priority, with 65 million preborn babies being killed in America since 1973, euthanasia is another significant end-of-life issue we must tackle. In fact, if we care about abortion, we must also care about euthanasia, as both are unnatural terminations of life. Abortion is the intentional killing of an unborn baby in the womb, while euthanasia is the intentional killing of someone who’s been born–usually someone who is elderly, disabled, or mentally ill–either through direct action or omission. Both deny the dignity of life in their own ways, and Canada is unfortunately leading other countries in legalizing euthanasia with their increasing acceptance and encouragement of medical suicide. By examining Canada’s actions in this area, we can better know what we are up against and why euthanasia is ultimately a corrosive disease in our society.
Canada’s Actions
In 2015, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that banning assisted suicide took independence and dignity from Canadian citizens, and Parliament was given one year to draft legislation that would legalize the practice. The following year, Canada’s Medical Assistance In Dying program (also known as MAID) went into effect amid high criticism and controversy. Only those who are aged 18 and older with a terminal illness (with their death being “reasonably foreseeable”) were eligible to the program.
Over 1,000 people were granted an assisted death in 2016, and the numbers continued to grow with over 10,000 assisted deaths taking place in 2021. Canadians broadly support at least some access to assisted death, according to opinion polls; Dr. Stefanie Green, president of the Canadian Association of Maid Assessors and Providers, expressed the popular Canadian belief well when she said, “Almost every single time I deem a patient eligible, that patient stops worrying about how they’re going to die and starts wondering how they’re going to live…It is objectively therapeutic to give someone the option.”
Canada expanded MAID even further in 2022 when two people from Montreal launched a legal challenge due to their degenerative, though not terminal, diseases. This court ruling made Canada one of the few countries, along with the Netherlands and Belgium, to allow assisted suicide for those without terminal illness, but “serious disabilities” nonetheless. This included those who suffered solely from mental illness, though their applications would be delayed for two years while the appropriate safeguards were set up. Scrutiny and doubt concerning this expansion loomed throughout the country.
Then the country started a program to euthanize prisoners in accordance with the MAID law. Though the numbers of prisoners that have been euthanized so far have been low, with nine prisoners dying as of March 2022, Canada is still the international leader in this practice. A Canadian prisoner referred to as “James,” who was in a study about medical assistance in dying in Canadian prisons, once said, “If you’re doing a long sentence and you’re never gonna get out, and the parole board’s always turning you down, and your CO and the CMTM parole officers are saying ‘no, no, no,’ then you’re stuck doin’ time for the rest of your life. If the assisted dying is an option, it should be looked at, especially if there’s no chance of you ever getting out.”
Canada is now in the process of further expanding it’s assisted suicide program to include more Canadians with mental illness. When the country’s government first announced this expansion in 2021, many spoke out against it, believing that this vulnerable population could be easily coerced or exploited through the offer of assisted death. As a result of this global scrutiny, the expansion of MAID has been temporarily delayed; this delay was meant to last until March of this year, but it is being further delayed to 2027. Nevertheless, this is not stopping Canadians from pursuing applications due to disabilities, poverty, or long wait times for necessary treatment.
As the years have gone on, Canada’s assisted suicide program has become less about ending a life that is “bound” to end, and more about ending a life that simply seems unlivable. In September of 2022, a Canadian man named Les Landry went public with his consideration of MAID due to his struggles with poverty and homelessness. He was very clear that he didn’t truly want to die, but that he saw no other option, explaining, “MAID is when the pain of living is more than the fear of death. How do you shut out the switch to both emotional and physical pain in poverty? This is for myself. I turned 65 on May 2nd and lost all [my] disabilities benefits and [I’m] now a senior in poverty. I am not going to live my life like this.” A doctor approved his request. Landry pointed out that it was easier for him to find medical help to be killed than it was to find help to live.
Tracey Thompson has a similar story. Due to long-term COVID complications and immense financial strain, she applied for euthanasia, believing that there was no other choice, saying, “I won’t be able to maintain housing and I’m not well enough to live on the street. I don’t understand how a society that supposedly has universal health care gets an international reputation for taking care of its citizenry, when that is obviously not true for poor [or] disabled people.”
One suffering Canadian combat survivor struggling with PTSD and recovering from a brain injury called Veterans Affairs, seeking treatment, only to be unexpectedly lectured about assisted suicide. He was asked whether he had thought about killing himself with the help of a doctor, and the employee continued to suggest assisted suicide even after the veteran repeatedly said that he was not interested. These three stories are just a few examples of how Canada has encouraged assisted suicide to an unprecedented point, even to the point of pushing the disabled and impoverished to choose death over life.
The Pro-Life Response
Pro-lifers have responded to this shocking development by pointing out several disturbing ideological aspects of voluntary euthanasia. The practice is often motivated by a desire to mercifully put a person out of their pain, as well as to grant them dignity and autonomy. As the infamous Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a U.S. based physician who killed 130 people seeking suicide, once said, “I believe in the fundamental right of an individual to decide when and how to die.” Even if the motivation to assist in killing another person is founded on good intentions, it doesn’t make the practice morally right.
Assisted suicide distorts the role of healthcare in our society. Rather than going into a doctor’s office to receive life-enhancing or even life-saving treatment, one might be suggested suicide. This may be out of mercy, but it may also be motivated out of the fact that true healthcare costs much more than killing. After all, there have been many situations in which insurance covers assisted suicide, but not chemotherapy treatment. Furthermore, the drugs used in assisted suicide haven’t always led to peaceful deaths. Barbiturates are used commonly, and they are also used on criminals who are receiving the death penalty; overdoses of these drugs have led to extreme muscle spasms, feelings of terror, and more.
We must ask ourselves – what confers value upon the life of a human being? What makes every life worth living? Ultimately, the answer is not health, success, happiness, or a great many years left; after all, we all lose these things at one point or another. The value of our lives is simply founded upon the truth that it is a gift granted to us by God, not that it is full of joy or wellbeing. No one should ever be left thinking that their life is no longer worth living or that no one needs them anymore, and these thoughts shouldn’t be encouraged by the very healthcare that is supposed to make our lives better. As University of Alberta ethics professor Dr. Brendan Leier stated, “I don’t think that anyone should ever end their life simply from despair – despair of either hope, or despair of alleviation from pain. Despair is never a great situation that anyone should act from. That’s my concern and that’s my consideration that any decision from despair should be avoided, and we should facilitate avoiding.”
We, as a species, naturally fear pain and suffering; we’ll do anything we can to avoid it, and sometimes this leads us to want to end our lives because we see no other way to survive. What if, however, as a society, we started to recognize that our suffering, whether it be physical or mental, is never a waste? We can’t have light without darkness in this world, and if we encourage the most vulnerable in our society to simply opt out rather than helping them live, how are we not caving into hopelessness? Instead of focusing so much on helping people die with dignity, why don’t we help people live with dignity? Bunny Wilder, a disabled person who was interviewed on the topic, succinctly said, “No one who wants to live should have death paid for by the government when the government won’t pay for them to live.”
My favorite literary and TV show character Sherlock Holmes once said in his Sherlock iteration, “Taking your own life. Interesting expression — taking it from who? Once it’s over, it’s not you who’ll miss it. Your own death is something that happens to everybody else. Your life is not your own. Keep your hands off it.” Ultimately our lives are not our own; according to studies, over 100 people are impacted by a single suicide. No matter your terminal illness, no matter your mental suffering, no matter your physical hardship – you are needed and you are unique. Your life has dignity, and it is certainly wrong for governments and societies to try to convince people that the sooner they die, the better.
We all play a part in creating a culture of life. What can you do to fight against suicide, both doctor-assisted and not?
Let’s all work together in creating a society that recognizes the dignity of life.
Photo by Rollz International on Unsplash
Mylee Kann
I love history, Middle Earth, writing, cinema, and Jesus. I hope to use the gifts He has given me to spread the Truth about His love and protect those in the womb.
The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Human Defense Initiative.
Mylee Kann
COMMENTARY
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