Report: Canadians With Nonterminal Issues Undergoing Assisted Suicide
Report: Canadians With Nonterminal Issues Undergoing Assisted Suicide
The Facts
A panel of experts has found that several people in Ontario, Canada, requested to be euthanized under the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program despite not having a terminal or "incurable" illness.
The review, released by Ontario's chief coroner, follows an Associated Press report that uncovered several such cases, including a homeless man refusing long-term care, a woman with severe obesity, and grieving widows.
The Spin
The Canadian government has not yet signed off on euthanasia for non-physically terminal illnesses, which is why such investigations are being conducted and dealt with. However, while even the most ardent supporters of MAID don't want it to be too broad, the pain of mental distress — which can be as acute and sometimes as incurable as physical conditions — must not be dismissed. There needs to be a rigorous system put in place to consider such cases.
MAID is an alarming health policy that completely disregards the intrinsic value of human life. Not only are impressionable people being brainwashed to believe their lives aren't worth living, but the way patients are killed also raises ethical concerns, with some hypothesizing that the overdose of anesthetic — given after muscle relaxants — could unknowingly lead to the drowning of the lungs. This would be barbaric, not compassionate, and warrants further investigation.
