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October 25, 2023 - 5:30pm
Last year 4.1% of all deaths in Canada were due to MAiD (medical assistance in dying), according to the country’s health ministry. This amounts to a total of 13,241 people who died under Canada’s MAiD programme in 2022, marking a 31% rise on the previous year.
These findings provide succour to claims made by MAiD critics that the programme has become too permissive. Federal guidelines stipulate that clients must have a grievous and irremediable medical condition, make a voluntary request for medical assistance in dying that is not the result of outside pressure or influence, and give informed consent to receive medical assistance in dying.
But towards the end of last year, the programme was criticised for allegedly driving citizens into assisted suicide on the grounds of poverty or lack of healthcare. Stories included two separate cases of cash-strapped women suffering from chronic health conditions who successfully applied to end their lives. Elsewhere, four Canadian military veterans were allegedly “pressured” to opt for medically-assisted death by a now-suspended Veterans Affairs Canada caseworker.
Health Canada’s fourth annual report on MAiD shows a staggering rise in deaths. Since the programme was launched in 2016, there has been a thirteenfold increase. The most cited underlying medical conditions for choosing MAiD included cancer (63%) as well as various respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological conditions. But in 463 MAiD cases, the person’s natural death was not reasonably foreseeable, up from 221 individuals in 2021.
There was also a 27% rise in the number of written requests for MAiD in 2022 (16,104) since 2021, 560 of which were deemed ineligible. The most commonly cited sources of suffering by people requesting MAiD were the loss of ability to engage in meaningful activities (86.3%), followed by loss of ability to perform activities of daily living (81.9%) and inadequate control of pain, or concern about controlling pain (59.2%).
Canada legalised euthanasia in 2016, but the remit of MAiD has expanded in recent years. In 2021, the Canadian parliament passed Bill C-7, a law which repealed a requirement that only those suffering from a terminal illness whose natural death was “reasonably foreseeable” could request euthanasia. Next March, the programme will again be expanded further to include anyone whose sole underlying issue is a mental illness.
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SubscribeFederal guidelines stipulate that clients must have a grievous and irremediable medical condition
Does that include living in Canada?
Possibly not but it does include the proximity of Justin Trudeau.
I wonder whether anyone has thought of making an application on his behalf.
Eugenics was enthusiastically promoted by progressive opinion in the early 20th Century until German National Socialism’s robust and widespread adoption of extreme eugenic practices rather took the shine off eugenics.
It is interesting to see progressive opinion has now reverted to type by promoting “voluntary” eugenic practices for the Lebensunwertes Leben in Canada.
It didn’t go away. Eugenics has made a resurgence. The WEF are very keen on population reduction. Not a conspiracy theory. Yuval Hari, a great favourite of the WEF along with Trudeau, commented on how ‘useless eaters’ will just take up resources as Artificial Intelligence and Robots take over work in the world.
When they start dehumanising people in this way we should all be very concerned for those who see excess humans as a major problem can be very creative. Unfortunately complacency and denial seems to be the order of the day.
I was amazed that an Israeli would use this term.
Indeed it didn’t go away! Julian Huxley (brother of Aldous – Brave New World – Huxley) rebranded it as ‘transhumanism’ in 1957. After bewailing the need to do so because the bloomin’ N**** had ruined it for everybody! Tsk! Soma anybody?
[Substitute N**** for “German fellows in uniform” common during period beginning in 1930s up to 1945 and therafter transported magically to US and Canada in ‘operation paperclip’ if they had any dodgy science to sell…]
Like many progressive fixations, there is a fundamental lack of the intellectual framework to engage with the unintended consequences of these policies. When we drive towards societal change based solely on ideology, we become incapable of entertaining the trade offs that are being created and providing the necessary guardrails to hem in the negative aspects of human nature. Our health care system is in collapse, we have a cost of living crisis, we are rapidly aging – do you think the Canadian government is expanding MAID to be benevolent?
Canada is bringing tomorrow´s transhuman F-scist future to the Western world today.
Trudeau seems to be fulfilling all the promise of his father and his dubious historical associations.
I found the 2021 statistics which showed that the principal causes of death were cancer, 27%; heart disease, 18%; accident (including overdoses), 6%; Covid 4.6%; stroke, 4.1%
So euthaniasia is now fourth or fifth most common cause of death..
It comes down to the question that if you have terminal cancer which cause of death would you prefer – cancer or MAiD? You will be one of the statistics either way.
Did you die ‘with’ MAiD or ‘from’ MAiD…
Much like Covid, I think you get MAID in the hospitals.
This is a bit like saying everyone has a terminal case of Life. No one gets out of here alive! The choice to commit suicide is now based on the idea that Life is worthwhile only if enjoyable or something like that. Much like the sexual revolution started with the Pill and has now led to men playing women’s sports, these euthanasia efforts will be seen by future generations as markers along a tragic road that our civilization took. The finish line will be a culture of death and disrespect for human life that means no one is safe.
After all, we bemoan mass shootings, terrorism, etc. – but then out the other side of our mouths say that human life has no intrinsic value and that we’re all just random products of impersonal, natural causes. If you think life is only worth living if you’re enjoying yourself, or if you don’t have a terminal condition, then don’t expect anyone else to think your life is worthy of their respect, either. Humans have an irreducible dignity that does not depend on money, brains, looks or “how you’re feeling today” – we are children of God, and not authorized to decide when our lives should end.
Very well said!
Agreed
Euthanasia is massively pushed forward, as a way to control the amount of resources spent on “end-of-life” healthcare.
Thisis a decision that was pushed by lobbying from advocacy groups. I am not saying this is a fundamentaly evil choce for society, but it is a very questionnable one indeed. Especially when considering the fact that the public never relly got to make an INFORMED decision on this topic.
Careful here please.
I fell off a rock bluff into blast rubble over 40 years ago. Pain management is a huge issue for me. Currently, I have no interest in leaving this mortal coil. And if this pain goes on and gets worse, which it likely will, further down the road I might just feel I do want out.
Frankly, from my perspective, euthenasia is a far sight better than leaving an unholy mess around the house by shooting my head off. And my spouse, who would end up cleaning up the mess, whole heartedly agrees.
And yes, it was a very hard conversation, because she has zero desire to even remotely think about losing me. Which, of course, is a big reason why I still wish to stick around.
Astonishingly at the same time in Canada (aka the killing fields) a man called Kenneth Law has been arrested for running a website for potential ‘offers’ and supplying them with the means to do it.
So it appears to be OK for the state to dispose of problematic citizens but not the citizens themselves.
Progressivism…always leads to…excessivism.
Justin Trudeau’s PM father, Pierre, rose to power on ‘Trudeaumania’. Justin has given Canadians ‘Trudeaunasia’. I pray for the end of his pernicious regime and its policy of state assisted suicide.
I’d be interested to know how the suicide numbers compare between before MAID started and today. Has the programme led to many more people ending their life than before, or has it simply transferred from the DIY approach to an assisted setting?
I would also be interested to see such statistics. Context is important here. If the overall suicide rate is unchanged, that paints quite a different picture.
I agree it would, but these numbers on their own are largely useless. They sound shocking but if the number of terminally ill and the number of suicides drop by a similar amount to the numbers choosing assisted dying then it isn’t really an issue.
Ultimately if somebody doesn’t feel like living anymore then it’s up to them. As long as they’ve not been pressured into it and are of sound mind then who am I to tell them they’d be better off struggling through daily pain in a broken body.
Whilst the Canadian system sounds as if it does need much stricter safeguards to prevent simply bumping off people feeling a bit glum or feeling like a burden then ultimately it’s a personal decision
Yes, I was actually trying to agree with you but I didn’t do a very good job of it. My wording is rather confusing. Sometimes brevity is the enemy of clarity. I meant that if we add up the number of assisted suicides with regular suicides, compare it to the suicide rate before these laws were implemented, and find that the overall rate hasn’t changed much, it would suggest people who would have offed themselves in the traditional way are simply taking the easier, legal pathway. I would expect some increase overall as many people who might be reluctant to resort to traditional suicide would find the legal option more palatable. Knowing this information would give us a much clearer picture of what’s actually going on. With statistics, the devil is as ever in the details.
I suspect, though it hasn’t been explicitly stated, that the real reason we (I’m Canadian) are extending assisted dying to those with mental illness might be to accommodate those with dementia who would prefer this option, rather than fading away.
Given this, if someone with dementia is offered this choice, it becomes challenging to argue against providing the same option to those with severe, debilitating schizophrenia, for example. Schizophrenia, while manageable, is incurable, and its medication often has unpleasant side effects. This reasoning could extend to any severe brain disorder.
Personally, watching a parent rapidly deteriorating due to dementia makes me think that if I were ever in a similar situation, I would prefer to have the option of assisted dying available. It’s obvious this scenario will be more common than the exceptions, just like assisted dying remains more common among dying cancer patients than the few (alleged) extreme examples mentioned in the article.
I just don’t think it’s right to restrict the majority due to the vulnerabilities of a few. This explains my position on Covid measures as well. While it’s important to take care of those who require special attention, depriving everyone of options is never the right approach to this, in my view.
So now having dementia makes your life valueless? The depreciated mental abilities of our loved ones should inspire greater care for them, not less.
We are living in truly despicable times.
It is an option I would like to have for myself, and I think it should be available to anyone who wishes to use it – not something to be imposed on others who do not, nor in lieu of proper treatment and care.
Should society allow people to accept money to appear in snuff films? In that case the soulless commercialization of death is right on the surface… but it’s right under the surface in society’s push for euthanasia.
While I don’t think suicide is OK, what we’re talking about is something totally different: it’s *state-sponsored* suicide, with the official imprimatur of our society, now become part of our bureaucratic processes, our family expectations, our personal possibilities. All of those things have a general effect of lowering resistance, overcoming hesitation, making us all feel like it’s normal and “we’re supposed to.” And then suddenly people wonder, how much am I costing my kids? What a burden I’ve become! I’m kinda depressed right now anyhow.
People used to wonder what it would be like to be a time traveler, to live in the ancient world with gladiators and slaves and the like. Well, we’ll be there soon enough, when we create a society which decides some people just aren’t worth keeping alive.
But what about when you wouldn’t be deemed cognitively capable of making the decision for yourself….then the decision is by nature imposed on you by others.
I cared for a parent with dementia. I saw the quality of their life diminish, the daily indignities they had to suffer , their world reduced to one room when they became bed ridden. I would like the choice of not having to live as a shell of the person I once was, terrified of everything and convinced that my child who was caring for me was there to hurt me. I’m not asking for euthanasia to be made compulsory but it should be an option.
Thank you. Same. Though I do think Canada’s law does less for the demented and those who truly love them than it does to push people with chronic conditions on aid into choosing death because their life of poverty is too depressing.
I understand what he said about wanting assisted suicide for Alzheimers. My dad had alzheimer’s and was terrified every day in the end. He eas lucky to break some ribs, develop pneumonia and bladder infection, get placed on hospice and die. TBH.
I am crying just writing this seven years later, but seeing him confused and frightened most minutes of the day peeing in corners and wearing diapers…my once proud, smart father. It was beyond heartbreaking.
I am glad he died before his life became more scary and miserable. It was awful for him.
If he had been forgetful and happy, then no problem, but he was hallucinating and scared. It was not good.
They must do a much better job of it. There are too many stories of people on aid being “reminded” suicide is a choice for them. That it might be a good option.
That is horrific.
The logical extension of this is an individual’s unconditional legal right to an assisted death with the corollary of a ‘duty to kill’ by the state. Thus doctors and nurses, many if not all of whom, will have gone onto medicine in order to save life will be bound to end it, even for those who are healthy and young with all life before them… If assisted death becomes such an option for everyone and anyone at any time how long will such a society survive? But if it is not how will the law defend itself against challenges of denial of equality? If it’s ok for a twenty year old psychotic why not a depressed eighteen year old? And once that is conceded why not a fourteen, ten or seven year old?
People come to the end of their days in hospitals all around the world, I just wonder if the “deaths above replacement” of the last few years has more to do with lock downs then anything else.
Somehow, I dont think its a good idea to legitimize bureaucrats deciding whether you deserve death or not.
Its not a big step from that to big brother deciding the conditions when you should be offed.
We should all weep for Canada; a nation that has lost its soul.
I think all of us live in a nation that has lost its soul.
Well we are fighting the good fight still. The wife is in health care and diagnostic imaging at one of the biggest hospitals in Canada. They have been tasked with the plumbing portion of MAID.
When good people are involved there is some checks and balances. Everyone meets their end in the end.
I can tell you, they were none too happy when it came out that part of the selling point was cost control. In my opinion, none of this should be in the healthcare realm.
The scope creep on healthcare is one of the biggest problems facing modern mixed economy countries. This sort of stuff is the harbinger of that reckoning.
The legalisation of assisted suicide would give to a High Court judge in the Family Division such power over life and death as no judge in this country had enjoyed since the abolition of capital punishment. My paternal grandfather was born before such working-class men could vote, and my maternal ancestors included African slaves, Indian indentured labourers, and Chinese coolies. We who come off the lower orders and the lesser breeds, and perhaps especially those of us who are disabled, know perfectly well who would be euthanised, and how, and why.
Even if we had made it past the industrial scale abortion that disproportionately targeted us, then we would face euthanasia as yet another lethal weapon in the deadly armoury of our mortal enemies, alongside their wars, alongside their self-indulgent refusal to enforce the drug laws, alongside Police brutality and other street violence, alongside the numerous life-shortening consequences of economic inequality, and alongside the restoration of the death penalty, which is more likely than it has been in two generations, and which would not be repealed if the Prime Minister were a former Director of Public Prosecutions who was now a war criminal.
All this, and the needle, too? This is class and race war, and we must fight to the death. That death must not be ours, but the death of the global capitalist system. Having subjected itself to that system to a unique extent, Britain is uniquely placed to overthrow it, and to replace it with an order founded on the absolute sanctity of each individual human life from the point of fertilisation to the point of natural death. That foundation would and could be secured only by absolute fidelity to the only global institution that was irrevocably committed to that principle, including the full range of its economic, social, cultural and political implications.
To which benevolent, incorruptible, altruistic, and unfailingly equitable global institution are you referring? You seem to have left out that bit. If such a thing existed, I’d be all for it, but it doesn’t exist, and probably such a thing could not exist given humanity’s many and well documented failings.
The only global institution that is irrevocably committed to the principle of the absolute sanctity of each individual human life from the point of fertilisation to the point of natural death, including the full range of its economic, social, cultural and political implications. Take as long as you need.
The National Rifle Association.
Were the “holy” wars sanctioned by its “leader on earth” irrevocably committed to the absolute sanctity of each individual human life?
Take as long as you need.
Ah, so he’s referring to the Catholic Church then. I’ll grant that in its present form, the church at least theoretically aspires to be what he claims it is, and that it at least espouses a belief in the value and sanctity of life and all that, but being an organization of men, it is no less subject to human failings than any other. Even a cursory perusal of history would reveal that the Catholic Church has had its share of corruption, vice, and has disregarded the sanctity of life when and where it suited their agenda. Even in the present day, there are quite a few victims of child abuse who, understandably, might contest the benevolence and commitment of this particular organization.
The slightly noncey one with the dog collars?
But apparently, they’re all satanists now – esp the Jesuits…
Well, I’m catholic, and guys like Thomas Aquinas deciding on your philosophy definitely speaks well for them, though unfortunately the institution is run by humans and as such needs its curtailments. Staying out of economics is one of those things. Give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, as is written.
Last Sunday’s Gospel, in fact. And the point is that since God created everything, then everything belongs to God.
God also gave humans free will and individuality.
If he wanted us to be ants, he would of made us more ant like.
I’m sure we disagree on many things – but this is very well said. Euthanasia is just another name for marginalizing the most vulnerable in our societies. Not unlike the sexual revolution, it was premised on the idea that we should be free to what we like provided we don’t hurt others. But then it turned out that doing what we like does hurt others – and we just don’t care. If I get what I want, too bad for everyone I have to trample along the way.
Under which party? LOL.
Capitalism alone did not create this. Unfettered capitalism would have very limited government if it had choices. No. This is not the result of capitalism alone. It sure looks a lot like fascism, though.
I’m thankful that if the time comes I can end my life on my own terms legally.
Yes, life don’t suit everyone..
Are you familiar w/ the suicidal patient who was offered MAID as a “treatment” option?
Patients with physical disabilities that the state doesn’t want to bother to help will be subtly moved toward MAID. A 37-year-old with hEDS, a genetic connective tissue disorder predominant in women, who were told for decades it was in their head, was approved under MAID and killed herself two years ago. The condition can be treated w/ a range of medication and deep myofascial PT, and w/ disability payments, accessible to actual pain meds (including benzos) and Ritalin to counteract severe POTS due to weak vessels, you can live a decent life. You can even volunteer or work 10-20 hrs a month.
She requested MAID not because her condition had gotten worse, but because HER PROVIDER MOVED AWAY. Since people w/ hEDS are routinely invalidated and denied appropriate tx, she saw the writing on the wall. And she got approved. Rather than simply allow her to manage her condition w/ the meds she knows works–what used to be called palliative–and approve her for monthly disability payments, the State killed her.
Much more cost-effective, and boy, you can control the population when you in effect can torture them in any movement by withholding pain control.
I agree wholeheartedly w/ assisted suicide if carefully reviewed for late stage disease or dementia where no available tx can mitigate symptoms and the patient clearly indicated prior to this point that they wouldn’t want to go on. Naturally.
But this is about getting rid of useless eaters. Canada can’t possibly keep providing socialized housing to its elderly plus care to all citizens & keep up its immigration rate. They really can’t encourage elderly people living into their 90s w/ 24/7 care. This is their “humane” cost effective solution.