When Canada legalized euthanasia in 2016, a patient had to be terminally ill to access the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program. But next year, the state plans to extend MAID to those suffering from mental illness — including those afflicted with PTSD.
Exactly what those who predicted a slippery slope to an ethical breakdown warned us about has now come to pass. Euthanasia proponents scoffed at the idea that the mentally ill would be given the opportunity to end their lives, but it’s come about much faster than anyone would have predicted.
Canadian military veteran Kelsi Sheren developed post-traumatic stress disorder from the Afghanistan war and now campaigns against the expansion of euthanasia.
“When you take people who were willing to put their lives on the line for you, for your safety, then you have the audacity to tell them it’s better if you just die … it is one of the most disgusting things,” says Sheren. “It’s unacceptable, and it is one of the most infuriating things to come down from the Canadian administration in the last decade.”
Sheren says that beating PTSD is hard but accessing the medical services to help in the process is even harder.
It’s one thing to be suffering from a terminal illness that puts the patient in constant pain and discomfort. But what about the case of Lisa Pauli, a 47-year-old woman suffering from the eating disorder anorexia? In 2024, she will be able to access state-assisted suicide despite the fact that there are treatments that could help her deal with her condition.
But six disability rights and religious advocates told Reuters that the pace of the planned changes to the assisted death framework in Canada brings additional risks of people opting for MAID because they are unable to access social services – the lack of which could exacerbate their suffering.
Canada’s Justice Minister, David Lametti, dismissed criticism that the country was moving too fast or opening up the system to abuse. Some disability advocates have demanded rolling back the current framework because they argue it puts people with disabilities at risk.
“We have gotten where we are through a number of very prudent steps,” Lametti said in an interview with Reuters in June. “It’s been a slow and careful evolution. And I’m proud of that.”
And there’s also the problem of the state forcing hospitals to offer euthanasia services even if it’s against their religion.
In line with its religious beliefs, St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver does not offer euthanasia and recently transferred a patient to another hospital after they asked to be killed. But Dying With Dignity is using the case to attempt to block the hospital from receiving taxpayer funding.
Angelina Ireland, President of Delta Hospice Society, said: “If they get their way that means no sanctuaries for the dying, be it faith-based or purely palliative care oriented”.
In 2021, Delta Hospice Society lost $1.5 million in public funding and was evicted from its premises in the province because it refused to allow euthanasia.
What should be clear to even the most casual observer is that there is no “middle ground” with euthanasia advocates. This is exactly the reason we should be terrified of these people. Their goal is not “compassion” but victory. Outside moral judgments must not play a role in “individual autonomy.”
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Someone has to protect the aged, the infirm, and the mentally incompetent. Making state-sanctioned suicide anything more than a rare, reluctantly taken medical intervention is barbaric. Canada should wake up before they start building suicide centers a la Soylent Green.
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