Canada is one of only seven countries in the world where euthanasia is permitted, and in just a few short years, it has become arguably the most permissive of all. Legalized in 2016, the number of death from euthanasia has increased year over year, growing between 30-36% each time.
In 2021, 10,064 people were euthanized. This is compared to 2020, which had 7383 deaths, and 2019, which saw 5424. Currently, the 10,064 number represents 3.3% of all deaths in Canada or 1/3050 people. Nearly as many people were euthanized as died from COVID-19 in the country last year, and in 2022, far more people will have died from taking their own life than by the novel coronavirus.
Unlike some countries, which only allow for cases of unbearable, debilitating suffering, Canada is much laxer. A recent AP story on it explains:
(IN 2016, Canada) legalized both euthanasia and assisted suicide for people aged 18 and over provided they met certain conditions: They had to have a serious condition, disease or disability that was in an advanced, irreversible state of decline and enduring “unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be relieved under conditions that patients consider acceptable.” Their death also had to be “reasonably foreseeable,” and the request for euthanasia had to be approved by at least two physicians.
The law was later amended to allow people who are not terminally ill to choose death, significantly broadening the number of eligible people. Critics say that change removed a key safeguard aimed at protecting people with potentially years or decades of life left.
Today, any adult with a serious illness, disease or disability can seek help in dying.
They go on to offer some more frightening facts:
-Canada is the only country that allows nurse practitioners, not just doctors, to end patients’ lives. Medical authorities in its two largest provinces, Ontario and Quebec, explicitly instruct doctors not to indicate on death certificates if people died from euthanasia.
— Canadian patients are not required to have exhausted all treatment alternatives before seeking euthanasia, as is the case in Belgium and the Netherlands.
–Next year, the country is set to allow people to be killed exclusively for mental health reasons.
They’re also considering extending euthanasia to “mature” minors — children under 18 who meet the same requirements as adults.
At this pace, it’s only going to get worse.
