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Canada’s Assisted-Suicide Policy Body Surfing Toward America

Invariably, no matter the issue, whenever the Left aims to implement a policy proposal it deems innocuous, a triggered Right declares it part of a  slippery slope on the road to serfdom. Invariably, too, the Right is correct—as recent developments regarding Canada’s assisted-suicide law show.

Why should you care about Canada and assisted suicide? Well, in the first place, the American Left is constantly importing other nations’ insane and injurious policies. The Left is not necessarily engaged in this activity for subversive reasons. Often, they cite the acceptance of so-called “cosmopolitans” as evidence of the merit of these policies, because they cannot cite their efficacy. Consequently, it is wise to be wary of the international Left’s agenda and their efforts to implement it. 

As we consider what’s happening in Canada, one might also recall the (paraphrased) words of my late father: “stuff rolls downhill.”

Canadians are body surfing down the slippery slope of assisted suicide to dystopia. In 2021, “Medical Aid in Dying” (MAiD) accounted for over 3 percent of deaths nationally, with some provinces’ rates topping 5 percent. Nonetheless, “free” government-run healthcare costs remain painfully expensive. One of the most obvious ways to cut costs—compassionately, of course—is to reduce demand. While it is doubtless a coincidence, the Canadian government’s “compassion” for state sanctioned assisted suicide has grown along with the government’s health care costs. 

Of late, the Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers (CAMAP) has expressed its altruistic concern that not enough of our neighbors to the north are aware assisted suicide is an option. As reported by Breitbart:

The Canadian Association of MAiD Assessors and Providers (CAMAP) intends to provide guidance to physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and other allied healthcare professionals on bringing up MAiD as a clinical care option. We aim to facilitate equitable access to information about MAiD for all patients across Canada. We also aim to find an acceptable compromise with healthcare professionals who conscientiously object to MAiD, respecting their personal views, while working together to best serve patients.

And, yes, we all know that whenever the Left asks for a compromise with dissenters, it is but a matter of time before they demand the dissenter’s complete submission.

Be that as it may, some will argue that “suggesting” allied healthcare providers mention assisted suicide to patients is merely informing terminal patients of their options. Indeed, CAMAP expressly states the provider should not attempt to persuade any patient to adopt assisted suicide as an option. In real life, however, this red line is not as bright as the Left might claim. Canadian veterans have alleged healthcare providers’ “suggestions” have tried to steer them toward assisted suicide for post-traumatic stress disorder and other nonterminal conditions.

Wait. “Nonterminal conditions”? That’s right. Per the National Post (via Breitbart):

One year from now, in March 2023, Canada will become one of the few nations in the world allowing medical aid in dying, or MAID, for people whose sole underlying condition is depression, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, schizophrenia, PTSD or any other mental affliction.

How the slippery slope steepens. Soon, Canadians will be able to seek “medical aid in dying” for non-terminal mental disorders. So much for the Hippocratic Oath. Citing the pain of living with a non-terminal mental disorder, proponents argue it is as compassionate to kill someone so afflicted as it is a terminally ill person. That the mental disorder may prevent a patient’s informed and rational consent is a consideration, but it is a factor the healthcare provider will be able to determine. What could go wrong? After all, we are dealing with mature adults . . .

And . . . nope.

As reported by Chris Tomlinson in Breitbart:

A Canadian parliamentary committee has recommended the government expand its assisted-suicide policies to allow ‘mature minors’ to seek medical assistance to end their lives . . . The report does, however, suggest that the children who undergo assisted-suicide should only do so if their natural death is ‘reasonably foreseeable’ the National Post newspaper reports . . . Other recommendations from the committee include calling on the government to look into the views of minors themselves on the topic of assisted-suicide and their personal experiences.

“Mature minors” is one of those Orwellian phrases that epitomizes the madness driving the disordered leftist soul and impelling his hellbent lust to destroy innocence—literally. And this lust for destruction isn’t limited to the political realm. Canada’s corporate world is complicit in “informing” youth that MAiD is not just an option—it’s cool! Apparently, the private sector missed CAMAP’s guidance that a “suggestion” should not become “persuasion,” especially for the most impressionable among us.

What are the fruits of MAiD for Canadians? In addition to the commercial benefits of making Canada a hot “death tourism” destination, MAid has given the nation a distinction:

Canada is also harvesting the organs of those killed and has become the number one country for harvesting organs from those who have undergone assisted-suicide procedures in the world . . . According to a report published in December of 2022, Canada accounted for half of the organs harvested from those who underwent assistance in death and were transplanted into others. MAiD accounted for six per cent of all transplanted from deceased donors in 2021.

At least, unlike Communist China, the Canadian government’s organ donors had a say in the matter—for now.

Envious of Canada’s devolution into a death cult, two recent developments evince how the American Left wants to import our neighbor to the north’s assisted-suicide policies and seek to erode existing American restrictions upon assisted suicide. 

For one, “death tourism” is continuing to spread among the 50 states. According to the National Catholic Register, one of the 10 states allowing assisted suicide, Vermont, is poised to join Oregon in removing residency requirements for those seeking such “treatment.” As with the movement to have states legalize marijuana consumption and production, should Vermont become the east coast outpost for assisted suicide, it will not be long before other states drop their residency requirements or approve assisted-suicide laws. State legislatures are always looking to expand and enhance their revenue streams. If you think moral qualms play a role in determining which revenue sources to access, I have a lottery ticket to sell you.

Further, as in Canada, U.S. proponents are seeking to expand among the states the permissible reason for assisted suicide—a terminal illness—to include mental disorders. The Colorado Sun’s Jennifer Brown reports how Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani has revealed the way she steers patients with eating disorders toward assisted suicide, despite that being illegal under Colorado’s assisted-suicide law. Once more, a self-anointed savior of the Left unilaterally deems the law to be subordinate to its ever-shifting desires and ideological tenets. And, no, it never ends well. 

Best to keep an eye on Canada’s MAiD policies. The American Left does, and they like what they see. It’s why they want to ensure Canada’s assisted-suicide laws roll downhill to America. Sure, all life’s paths lead but to the grave. But we shouldn’t hurry to get there.

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About Thaddeus G. McCotter

An American Greatness contributor, the Hon. Thaddeus G. McCotter (M.C., Ret.) represented Michigan’s 11th Congressional district from 2003 to 2012 and served as Chair of the Republican House Policy Committee. Not a lobbyist, he is a frequent public speaker and moderator for public policy seminars, and a Monday co-host of the "John Batchelor Show" among sundry media appearances.

Photo: iStock/Getty Images

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