From LifeSiteNews

By Susan Ciancio, American Life League

According to Ontario’s chief coroner, ‘people asking to be killed’ through euthanasia ‘were more likely to require disability support and be socially isolated,’ and one woman in her 50s ‘asked to die largely because she could not get proper housing.’

Those of us who value the life of all human beings understand the dangers of assisted suicide, or “medical assistance in dying,” as it is euphemistically called in Canada. But now, others have begun to see the horrors of Canada’s laws. A recent article in the Frederick News-Post begins, “An expert committee reviewing euthanasia deaths in Canada’s most populous province has identified several cases where patients asked to be killed in part for social reasons such as isolation and fears of homelessness.” 

The article examines reports issued by Ontario’s chief coroner, who reviewed the euthanasia deaths of those who did not have an allegedly terminal illness. It explains that “Canada’s legal criteria require a [purported] medical reason for euthanasia—a fatal diagnosis or unmanageable pain—but the committee’s reports show cases where people were euthanized based on other factors including an ‘unmet social need.’”

A doctor on this expert committee said she feels vindicated that people are seeing the horrors of what Canada’s laws are doing to people. She stated, “We’ve been gaslit for so many years when we raised fears about people getting MAiD because they were poor, disabled or socially isolated.”

Two such cases were discussed in the article. One was a man in his 40s who suffered with a bowel disease and who had a history of both mental illness and substance abuse. The report described him as “socially vulnerable and isolated.”

The second was a woman in her 50s who was “suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome” and who had a history of PTSD and mental illness. The report states that “she was socially isolated and asked to die largely because she could not get proper housing.”

This report emphasizes what those of us in the pro-life field have been saying for years. Euthanasia is a slippery slope. For example, when a country or a state allows a sick or dying person to end his life prematurely, we open the door for ambiguity of the word “sick.” 

Indeed, what is most disturbing about the findings of this report is that the Ontario coroner found that the “people asking to be killed were more likely to require disability support and be socially isolated.”

What does that say about us as a society when people would rather die because they feel they have no one to help take care of them? 

Our society puts more emphasis on what a person can do than on who a person is. Human beings have become like commodities that we discard when they are no longer useful. 

Caring for others should not be something we are forced to do. It should be something we lovingly do. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. In fact, it can be incredibly difficult to care for someone who is sick or dying. That’s why it should never be something done alone. It takes a team of caregivers – from family, to friends, to sometimes paid staff in facilities or those who make house calls.

For years, I have seen this loving care firsthand with my uncle, whose wife passed away last week after battling dementia. He cared for her at home until he was physically unable to do so. The disease made her combative, and for his health and her safety, he moved her into a care facility. 

But unlike some facilities that have staff who leave residents alone in their rooms or in chairs in large common rooms, those at this facility cared for her. My uncle visited her daily, and he always had glowing remarks about how kindly the staff treated her. 

My uncle is a model of self-giving love that is increasingly uncommon in today’s world. He didn’t stop loving his wife when she became ill. He didn’t think she was better off dead. He didn’t find her to be a burden. On the contrary, he continued to love her because of who she was. The disease stole her memory, but it did not steal his love for her. 

This is the epitome of loving care. This is what it means to be Christ’s hands on earth and to see people with His eyes. 

Suffering is never easy, but walking with someone in their suffering is what we are called to do. My uncle did that beautifully, and he is a model to other struggling caregivers.  

If everyone who was sick or suffering had people to lovingly care for and protect them, I daresay that the desire for assisted suicide would greatly diminish. After all, who would want to hasten death when they feel loved and cherished?

Susan Ciancio is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has worked as a writer and editor for over 20 years; 15 of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently, she is the editor of American Life League’s Celebrate Life Magazine—the nation’s premier Catholic pro-life magazine. She is also the director and executive editor of ALL’s Culture of Life Studies Program—a pre-K-12 Catholic pro-life education organization.

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

An Ontario man in his late 40s has been euthanized after doctors diagnosed him with ‘post COVID-19 vaccination syndrome’ following three COVID jabs, which caused him to suffer ‘severe functional decline.’

An Ontario man has been granted euthanasia for “post COVID-19 vaccination syndrome.”

According to an October report by the National Post, an anonymous Ontario man in his late 40s has been euthanized after doctors determined his COVID shot injuries qualified him for assisted suicide or “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAiD) under Canada’s euthanasia regime.

“Amongst his multiple specialists, no unifying diagnosis was confirmed,” the reports issued by a 16-member MAiD death review committee found.

Nevertheless, the doctors “opined that the most reasonable diagnosis for Mr. A’s clinical presentation (severe functional decline) was a post-vaccine syndrome, in keeping with chronic fatigue syndrome.”

The man experienced “suffering and functional decline” following three doses of the experimental COVID shots.

He also suffered from a slew of mental illnesses, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and personality disorders. He was admitted to the hospital twice “while navigating his physical symptoms” with thoughts of suicide.

He was eventually diagnosed “post COVID-19 vaccination syndrome,” which is not currently include in Canada’s current vaccine reporting system. Notably, Canada’s program to compensate those injured by the so-called “safe and effective” COVID shots has now spent $14 million, but the vast majority of claims remain unpaid.

His death is further complicated by the fact that multiple specialists failed to agree on his diagnosis, with many questioning if his condition met the criteria for an “irremediable” condition, which is required to seek euthanasia in Canada. Many also questioned if his mental health disqualified him from undergoing assisted suicide.

The man’s death is considered “Track 2,” part of a group who are not “terminally ill” and whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable.

Dr. Sonu Gaind, a psychiatrist and professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, revealed that he is troubled “by almost everything in this report.”

“I think we have gone so far over the line with Track 2 that people cannot even see the line that we’ve crossed,” said Gaind.

“It’s pretty clear that some providers are going up to that line, and maybe beyond it,” Gaind said.

As LifeSiteNews previously reported, internal information has revealed that Canadian doctors are questioning the morality of euthanizing vulnerable and impoverished patients who are choosing death because of poverty and loneliness.

During his time in office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have worked to expand assisted suicide 13-fold since it was legalized, making Canada’s euthanasia program the fastest growing in the world.

Currently, wait times to receive actual health care in Canada have increased to an average of 27.7 weeks, leading some Canadians to despair and opt for euthanasia instead of waiting for genuine assistance. At the same time, sick and elderly Canadians who have refused to end their lives via “MAiD” have reported being called “selfish” by their providers.

The most recent reports show that euthanasia is the sixth highest cause of death in Canada. However, it was not listed as such in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022.

When asked why it was left off the list, the agency said that it records the illnesses that led Canadians to choose to end their lives via euthanasia, not the actual cause of death, as the primary cause of death.

According to Health Canada, in 2022, 13,241 Canadians died by MAiD lethal injections. This accounts for 4.1 percent of all deaths in the country for that year, a 31.2 percent increase from 2021.