Canadian Doctor Warns Use of ‘MAID’ is Growing

(ProsperNews.net) – A doctor in Quebec has warned that Canada’s liberal end-of-life policies are facilitating so many suicides that death is no longer a last resort. The Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) measures have created an environment where people who are not terminally ill are seeking to end their lives, and shockingly, doctors are even suggesting euthanasia to patients who have not requested it.

Dr. Michel Bureau, head of Quebec’s End of Life Care Commission, said suicide under MAID is “very frequent,” and estimates that around 7% of deaths in the province, by the end of 2023, will be doctor-assisted suicides. “That’s more than anywhere else in the world: 4.5 times more than Switzerland, three times more than Belgium, more than the Netherlands. It’s two times more than Ontario,” Dr. Bureau said.

Euthanasia was legalized in Canada in 2016 and endorsed by the political establishment as a matter of individual autonomy and freedom of choice. Initially, MAID was only available to terminally ill patients, but by 2021, people with chronic illnesses that are not life-threatening also qualified.

Plans to include people with mental illnesses, including depression, have been pushed back to 2024, but some patients say suicide is already being offered as an early option. Kathrin Mentler, a 37-year-old from Vancouver, attended Vancouver General Hospital in June 2023, saying she suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts. She was assessed, told that psychiatrists were in short supply, and euthanasia was suggested.

“I very specifically went there that day because I didn’t want to get into a situation where I would think about taking an overdose of medication,” Mentlar said. The hospital acknowledged the conversation but said MAID was mentioned only to assess Ms. Mentlar’s psychological state.

Statistics from British Colombia reveal a significant growth in MAID suicides in that province. Between 2021 and 2022, cases increased by 24%. Dr. Bureau is not the only physician to express alarm. Dr. Madeline Li in Toronto said, “I don’t think death should be society’s solution.”