Canada’s embrace of euthanasia, evidenced by the Medical Assistance in Dying or MAiD law, is no longer news. Life News reports that there is even a new children’s book that helps kids understand the process. The book has been published by Canadian Virtual Hospice and is titled “Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Activity Book.” It is aimed at kids ages 6-12. There are coloring pages and prompts for children to draw or write about their feelings regarding someone who has chosen euthanasia. There are also discussions on what children can do for themselves or the person who is seeking medically-assisted suicide. Clearly, Canada is doing what it can to normalize the practice. But what happens when one left-wing cause collides with another?
Meet Lois Cardinal. Cardinal is a man who decided to transition. He claims to be a “sterilized First Nations post-op transsexual.” But Cardinal was unhappy with the results of his surgery. He applied for a lethal injection back in January. Cardinal told The Daily Mail that he is in constant discomfort and pain. Cardinal had a vaginoplasty in 2009, and the resulting pressure and pain have become unbearable. Cardinal stated, ‘It’s taking this psychological burden on me. If I’m not able to access proper medical care, I don’t want to continue to do this.” However, Cardinal’s request to utilize the MAiD law has been declined. Cardinal posted his medical documents last week. One doctor diagnosed the problem as “pain/anxiety related to neo-vagina for gender affirmation.” A specialist said that Cardinal did not meet the criteria for MAiD.
According to the government’s website, to meet the criteria for medically assisted suicide, a person must:
- be 18 years of age or older and have decision-making capacity
- be eligible for publicly funded health care services
- make a voluntary request that is not the result of external pressure
- give informed consent to receive MAID, meaning that the person has consented to receiving MAID after they have received all information needed to make this decision
- have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability (excluding a mental illness until March 17, 2024)
- be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability
- have enduring and intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated under conditions the person considers acceptable
Canadians seeking euthanasia solely based on mental illness will be eligible on March 17, 2024.
The problem for Cardinal is that doctors believe his issue could be addressed by other means, although his situation could be re-assessed if his clinical status does not improve. He has been prescribed numbing cream for the area affected by the vaginoplasty, but Cardinal says that the cream does not work. He told The Daily Mail, “I’m not getting any better and nor am I experiencing better medical care, or any medical care. It’s so captured by gender ideologies, that they care more about my pronouns.”
Before you are tempted to say that Cardinal is getting what he deserves, keep in mind that he is no fan of the trans agenda. He burned a trans flag in one video and has also commented, “I do not agree with the current rhetoric of the trans community. A lot of the so-called trans hate is fuelled by the trans community, because we aren’t allowed to have honest and tough conversations.” Cardinal also calls the movement a “medicalized” trend that preys on children and vulnerable Canadians, in particular the indigenous population.
On one hand, the Leftists that are in power in Canada are strongly in favor of MAiD. On the other hand, they also favor transgenderism. But in this case, the vaunted glories of transgenderism have run squarely into those of MAiD. By granting Cardinal his right to die because his transitioning has essentially failed and is thus being unmasked as an unhealthy trend, Canada’s Left must admit that the trans agenda is inherently and dangerously flawed. But that flies in the face of the government’s endorsement of MAiD. And so, the system chooses to resolve the problem by not resolving it. It essentially sends Cardinal back to try something else and maybe come back another day, hoping he will eventually go away. The Leftists in Canada cannot bring themselves to admit they are wrong about downplaying the dangers of transitioning.
One may argue for and against the ethics of euthanasia. But what is salient here is the situation that the Left has created. And whether one agrees with euthanasia or not, it is clear that Canadian progressives put more value on Cardinal’s transgender status than on Cardinal himself. And those progressives and those in the United States had better brace themselves. There is likely to be a surge of Lois Cardinals in the very near future.
