Part 11 in the 11-Part Series “Is Any Life Unworthy of Living?“
Mark P. Mostert, Ph.D.
While the Netherlands and other European countries have descended slowly into the complete acceptance of medicalized killing, the slippery slope has become way steeper in Canada.
For many years Canadian opponents of legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia waged highly visible campaigns to inform the public of the dangers of legalized killing. They eventually lost the battle, however, after high-profile court cases brought by terminally ill patients demanding the “right to die,” relentless spin about the positives of assisted suicide and euthanasia and a potent pro-death PR machine.
Canada legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia in 2016. True to the pro-death sleight of hand, it wasn’t called medicalized killing – instead it was given a much kinder moniker: Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID).
There were the usual guidelines:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have decision-making capacity
- Voluntary request
- Informed consent
- Medical condition must be “grievous and irremediable:”
o A serious and incurable illness, disease, or disability
o An advanced state of irreversible decline
o Enduring physical or psychological suffering that is intolerable
o The condition cannot be relieved under conditions acceptable to the person
Very soon, however, MAID grew out of control. Since 2016, the pro-death mantra of “death anytime, anywhere, for anyone, for any reason” has resulted in an explosion of medicalized death.
The casualty numbers tell the macabre story. Here is the annual Canadian death toll from assisted suicide and euthanasia:
2016: 1,018
2017: 2,838
2018: 4,493
2019: 5,665
2020: 7,611
2021: 10,092
2022: 13,241
2023: 15,343
2024: 16,499
That’s 76,475 deaths in the first eight years of legalization.
Legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia are now the fifth leading cause of death in Canada.
For perspective, over twenty years in the Netherlands, deaths from assisted suicide and euthanasia have increased from 1,000 to 9,000. Over eight years in Canada, deaths have risen from 1,000 to 16,499 — a 16-fold increase.
It will continue to snowball.
As expected, given everything we have discussed in this series, in Canada the “easy death” for very few under highly controlled circumstances has turned out to be a lie.
For those who might think the above information seems sensationalized, the following examples will show how the Canada madness plays out with real people.
Several months ago, Miriam Lancaster, a healthy 84-year-old, woke up one morning with intense back pain. She was taken to the emergency room in an ambulance. At that point nobody knew what the problem was. Her daughter was with her when the ER doctor came in.
Here’s what Miriam said later in an interview with EWTN News Nightly:
“The first person that I remember coming to speak to me was a young lady doctor…. The very first thing she said to me was, ‘I would like to offer you MAID.’”
Remember, nobody at that point knew the cause of the pain. No diagnosis. 84 years old. In pain.
Solution? Just die already.
Miriam firmly refused death as a medical treatment. Later, Miriam was diagnosed with a hairline fracture of her sacrum, the small bone just above the tailbone. She went home with some pain medication and a set of exercises. In weeks, she made a full recovery.
A 51-year-old woman in Nova Scotia was scheduled for a breast cancer mastectomy. In a pre-op interview, a doctor she didn’t know asked her a series of questions related to her medical history and was sure to include information about MAID, ostensibly because she had an underlying history of an autoimmune disorder and breast cancer. She wasn’t terminally ill, but the pro-death option was prominently suggested.
A year and a half later, when the woman was undergoing a second mastectomy, a different doctor did the same.
Coincidence? Of course not.
An army veteran and Paralympian with physical disabilities but otherwise in perfect health, Christine Gauthier needed a chairlift installed in her home. In 2017 she applied for government funding for the project.
Several years later, the chairlift had still not been installed. Obviously, Christine became increasingly frustrated as all of her complaints and appeals fell on deaf ears. In November 2024, when she appeared at a government hearing, the chairlift was nowhere to be seen.
At the hearing, things took a dark turn. She later reported that eventually the only answer she received to her predicament came via a social worker: “Madam, if you are really so desperate, we can now provide you with medical assistance in dying.”
Need some help after serving your country and trying to do the right thing to get help?
We can help put you out of your misery.
Here, the pro-death canard is finally exposed – if you are different and need some help, we can help you by killing you.
Mark P. Mostert, Ph.D., is senior researcher for Able Americans, a project of the National Center for Public Policy Research. This is part 11 of the 11-part series “Is Any Life Unworthy of Living?” Those wanting to be notified of future installments in the series should subscribe to the Able Americans email list.