MAiD
Conservative MP warns Canada to stop ‘wrong’ and ‘dangerous’ euthanasia expansion to mentally ill
MP Michael Cooper
From LifeSiteNews
On March 9, 2024, Medical Assistance in Dying is set to include those suffering solely from mental illness and MP Michael Cooper said Canadians ought to be ‘offered hope and help’ and ‘not death.’
Canada is set to go down a “very dangerous road in March of 2024” should it proceed with expanding euthanasia to the mentally ill, warned Conservative MP Michael Cooper, who urged the Liberal federal government to immediately “scrap” its “radical” assisted-suicide program and instead offer “hope” for the suffering.
“Unless the Liberals reverse course, Canada is set to go down a very dangerous road in March of 2024, when MAiD for mental illness becomes available,” Cooper said in a video posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
“There is something they (the federal government) can do. Canada doesn’t need to go ahead with this, what the Liberals need to do is follow the evidence, stop the madness, and introduce legislation to permanently scrap this radical expansion.”
Cooper then said Canadians who are “suffering from mental health issues” ought to be “offered hope and help” and “not death.”
On March 9, 2024, euthanasia in Canada, or Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) as it is known, is set to expand to include those suffering solely from mental illness. This is a result of the 2021 passage of Bill C-7, which also allowed the chronically ill – not just the terminally ill – to qualify for so-called doctor-assisted death.
The expansion comes despite warnings from top Canadian psychiatrists who said the country is “not ready” for the coming expansion of euthanasia to those who are mentally ill, adding that the procedure is not something “society should be doing” as it could lead to deaths under a “false pretense.”
Cooper noted that the law itself is ambiguous in that it leaves open the door to anyone being approved for the grim procedure.
“It is impossible to accurately predict your immediate reality under the law,” said Cooper, adding, “The leading medical professionals said that Canada isn’t ready for two fundamental reasons.”
“The first is that in order to qualify for MAiD, someone must suffer from an irremediable disease or illness, and afterwards one must suffer from a disease or illness in which they are not going to get better, and they are in an irreversible state of decline,” he noted.
Cooper observed how medical professionals have said that suffering from mental illness can’t “accurately be predicted, and so, therefore, persons who could get better, who could go on to lead healthy and happy lives, will have their lives prematurely ended.”
He then noted that a second “fundamental problem” with expanding MAiD to those with mental illness is the difficulty to “distinguish in the case of mental illness between a rational request for aid and one motivated by suicidal ideation.”
“This is underscored by the fact that the vast majority of persons who commit suicide suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. And you might be wondering who would qualify for MAiD in mental illness? What constitutes a mental disorder for the purpose of the law?”
As it stands now, according to a task group appointed by the Liberals that was struck to establish MAiD practice “standards,” anyone would qualify “if they suffer from a mental disorder listed in” the standards guide, which includes those who are depressed, autistic, or having addictions issues.
Cooper said that the standards as written are “radical” as well as “dangerous” and “wrong.”
The mental illness expansion was originally set to take effect in March 2023. However, after massive pushback from pro-life groups, conservative politicians and others, the Liberals under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delayed the introduction of the full effect of Bill C-7 until 2024 via Bill C-39, which becomes law next year.
The delay in expanding MAiD until 2024 also came after numerous public scandals, including the surfacing of reports that Canadian veterans were being offered the fatal procedure by workers at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).
When it comes to MAiD, more Canadians are dying from the procedure every year. Indeed, a recent Statistics Canada update admitted to excluding euthanasia from deaths totals despite being the sixth highest cause of mortality in the nation.
The number of Canadians killed by lethal injection since 2016 now stands at 44,958.
Stopping euthanasia expansion still possible, says pro-life advocate
Recently, LifeSiteNews reported on how pro-euthanasia lobbyists want Canada’s assisted suicide via lethal injection laws to be extended to drug addicts, which critics warn could lead the nation down a dangerous path nearing “eugenics.”
Recent attempts by the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) to stop the expansion of MAiD have failed.
MPs in the House of Commons voted down a private members’ bill introduced by CPC MP Ed Fast that would have repealed the expansion of euthanasia laws to those suffering from mental illness.
However, according to LifeSiteNews contributor and pro-life advocate Jonathon Van Maren, Canadian Justice Minister Arif Virani noted that the “Trudeau government is considering delaying the expansion once again.”
Virani recently told The Canadian Press that the Liberal government is “weighing our options” about expanding MAiD in March while currently assessing what the joint parliamentary committee and medical experts are telling them.
“We’ll evaluate all of that comprehensively to make a decision whether we move ahead on March 17 or whether we pause,” he noted.
For respectful communication with Justice Minister Arif Virani:
Email: [email protected]
Constituency Office phone: 416-769-5072
Parliamentary Office phone: 613-992-2936
From LifeSiteNews
Of the 662 people who were not in danger of death but succumbed to medical assistance in dying last year, 47.1 percent cited as reasons for wanting to die ‘isolation or loneliness.’
Official government data shows that about half of Canadians who are not terminally ill yet wanted to end their lives via state-sanctioned assisted suicide did so last year because they said they were lonely.
According to data published by Health Canada on December 11 in its fifth annual report on medical assistance in dying (MAID), 15,342 people were approved for and died by euthanasia in 2023.
A total of 14,721 of these deaths were in cases where illness or disability were likely down the road or considered “reasonably foreseeable.” These are called Track 1 MAiD deaths.
However, 662 deaths were people who were not dying. Of these Track 2 deaths, 47.1 percent cited as reasons for wanting to die “isolation or loneliness.” By comparison, about 21.1 percent of Track 1 deaths reported the same feelings for wanting to die by doctor-led suicide.
The report stated that “social isolation and loneliness are shown to have a serious impact on physical and mental health, quality of life, and longevity.”
Of the Track 2 deaths, 35.7 percent lived alone, compared with 30.2 percent of Track 1 deaths. Of Track 1 deaths, the average age was 77.7 years. The average age of Track 2 deaths was 75.
Of note is that this year’s Health Canada report on MAiD is the first to include so-called “verbal” requests from individuals as official. Previously, those who wanted to die via assisted suicide had to submit a form to Health Canada in order to be officially recorded as a request to die by suicide.
Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose Liberal government legalized MAiD in 2016, the deadly program has continued to relax its rules on who is eligible for death.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, 1 in 20 Canadian deaths in 2023 came from assisted suicide.
Instances of people being offered MAiD as a solution to their health issues have become commonplace in Canada, as reported by LifeSiteNews.
Last week, LifeSiteNews reported how a senior Canadian couple said that a hospice care center presented euthanasia to one of them as an option because they could not afford increased care costs on their fixed income.
Canadian pro-life leaders have criticized the Trudeau government’s continued push for expanding MAiD.
Indeed, most Canadians fear the nation’s euthanasia regime unfairly targets those who are financially and socially vulnerable while still supporting the immoral practice in general.
In 2021, the program expanded from killing only terminally ill patients to allowing the chronically ill to qualify. Since then, the government has sought to include those suffering solely from mental illness.
The number of Canadians killed by lethal injection under the nation’s MAiD program since 2016 stands at close to 65,000, with an estimated 16,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Many fear that because the official statistics are manipulated the number may be even higher.
Canada had approximately 15,280 euthanasia deaths in 2023.
From LifeSiteNews
Most Canadians fear the nation’s euthanasia regime unfairly targets those who are financially and socially vulnerable
A senior aged Canadian couple has said that a hospice care center presented euthanasia to one of them as an option as they were facing increased care costs they could not afford on their fixed income.
71-year-old Fred Sandeski from Saskatchewan, who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) along with a host of other ailments such as diabetes and epilepsy, and his wife Teresa, who also has failing health, say death via Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying euthanasia program was suggested to them when they realized they would not be able to cover the costs associated with increased care at a hospice center.
According to the Epoch Times, when Fred started with palliative care, “they were just listing us the availability of what options they had for us,” and MAiD was presented as “one option.”
Thankfully, Sandeski refused MAiD, saying, “I really, really believe that the Lord has put me on this earth for a reason, and he’s not going to let me go until I’m done.”
Sandeski’s plight was brought to the attention of the provincial government of Saskatchewan by the opposition New Democratic Party’s shadow minister for seniors, Keith Jorgenson, who encouraged Saskatchewan Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill to help the couple.
In response, Cockrill said that he had reached out to the Sandeskis and would “find a solution that’s going to work for Fred and Theresa this week.”
He added that when it comes to the care home having offered them MAiD as a solution to their plight, he would “hope that any health care professional in this province, having those discussions with a patient has a strong understanding of the patient’s health and familial context.”
Instances of people being offered MAiD as a solution to their health issues have become commonplace in Canada, as reported by LifeSiteNews.
Indeed, most Canadians fear the nation’s euthanasia regime unfairly targets those who are financially and socially vulnerable while still supporting the immoral practice in general.
However, some provincial governments are looking at fighting back against Trudeau’s expansion of legal assisted suicide.
Recently, the United Conservative government of Alberta said it would push back against the Canadian federal government’s continued desire to expand euthanasia in the nation, announcing it will be launching a review of the legislation and policies surrounding the grim practice, which will include a period of public engagement.
Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government legalized MAiD in 2016, the deadly program has continued to relax who is eligible for death.
In 2021, the program expanded from killing only terminally ill patients to allowing the chronically ill to qualify, as since then the government has sought to include those suffering solely from mental illness.
The number of Canadians killed by lethal injection under the nation’s MAiD program since 2016 stands at close to 65,000, with an estimated 16,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Many fear that because the official statistics are manipulated the number may be even higher.
Canada had approximately 15,280 euthanasia deaths in 2023.
Proposed $70 billion AI data centre in MD of Greenview could launch an incredible new chapter for western Canadian energy
Australian doctor who criticized COVID jabs has his suspension reversed
Massive growth in federal workforce contributes to Ottawa’s red ink
A Potpourri of the World’s Unexposed Scandals
-
Alberta23 hours ago
Proposed $70 billion AI data centre in MD of Greenview could launch an incredible new chapter for western Canadian energy
-
COVID-192 days ago
Australian doctor who criticized COVID jabs has his suspension reversed
-
Business2 days ago
Massive growth in federal workforce contributes to Ottawa’s red ink
-
Alberta19 hours agoYour towing rights! AMA unveils measures to help fight predatory towing
-
Frontier Centre for Public Policy2 days agoFalse Claims, Real Consequences: The ICC Referrals That Damaged Canada’s Reputation
-
COVID-192 days agoFormer Trudeau minister faces censure for ‘deliberately lying’ about Emergencies Act invocation
-
National2 days agoWhen’s the election? Singh finally commits. Poilievre asks Governor General to step in
-
Daily Caller2 days agoParty Leaders Exposed For ‘Lying’ About Biden Health