Could 1 in 10 Canadians really die by the hand of their doctor by 2034?
Could 1 in 10 Canadians really die by the hand of their doctor by 2034?
A new report says we're trending that way. Start planning now.
Turns out it takes more time, resource, creativity, will, and energy to sustain life than to end it. And the tired, overburdened Canadian medical system is proving that point, daily.
Every week we hear another tragic story of a death by the health system’s increasingly popular solution—MAiD—and it's trending toward accounting for 1 in 10 deaths by 2034 (currently it's at about 5%). This stat just might be the motivation you need to take your health in your hands.
This week I'm sharing the latest Op-ed I wrote that was published in The Christian Post.
Before I share it, a recommendation:
It’s important to be aware of what’s taking place. If you’re a Canadian, lean into your wellness journey now. Also, know that you and your loved ones will be offered an injection to end life as “treatment” at some point in the future.
So talk and plan now. Have a stance. Know what you think about end-of-life care. Talk with loved ones about their plans. This will help you when you’re in the midst of a health crisis: you and everyone around you.
If you need help right now because you are considering ending your life, you can call 1-833-456-4566
Resources and links
At the bottom of this article I share a few links that will help you navigate the issue and engage some of the Qs around it.
I've also included links to doctors in Canada who have publicly declared they won't end their patients’ lives and are a safe space.
The following is the most recent Op-Ed I wrote that was published in The Christian Post:
Death by the hand of doctors, the increasingly accessible procedure in Canada, could account for 10% of all deaths by 2034.
The alarming projection reveals how the concerted effort by the Liberal government to brand euthanasia as “health care” has so successfully reshaped end-of-life care. Since modifying the criminal code to de-classify assisted suicide as murder and make it medicine, there have been 44,598 reported deaths.
Disturbing stories continue to break in the Canadian news about medical assistance in dying (MAiD). The stories reveal how commonplace the procedure is becoming in the country and, despite its prominence, how morally conflicting assisted suicide continues to be for those in health crisis and for the families left behind.
One such story took place in Quebec where a man developed painful, terrible bedsores because the hospital didn’t have the appropriate medical mattress. After four days of suffering, he asked for medical staff to end his life. Rather than sourcing a mattress, they complied.
This MAiD horror story took place in the same province and under the same federal government, that offered Christine Gauthier, the Canadian military veteran and Paralympic world champion assisted suicide instead of the wheelchair ramp she requires for day-to-day life.
Euthanasia is more readily available than some of the most basic care, note experts in the medical community who continue to sound the alarm.
The research study that projects MAiD will account for 1 in 10 deaths within a decade compared assisted suicide in Canada with that of California. Both territories have similarly sized populations, and both Canada and California legalized doctor assisted suicide in 2016.
However, 15 times more Canadians die by MAiD than Californians. Some key reasons the numbers are so different between territories is that institutions in Canada promote and educate the public on the option, which in turn amplifies the public’s view of its moral acceptability.
Most strikingly, the way the procedure is administered is different. In California patients must self-administer, ingesting the drug that kills them on their own. Canadians can choose to self-ingest or to have a doctor inject them with the life-ending drug.
When given the choice to have a doctor end their life or to end it themselves, patients select the doctor almost every time.
In 2021 alone, of the 10,064 people who died by MAiD in Canada only seven individuals self-ingested the drug that ended their lives, a study in The American Journal of Bioethics revealed. The overwhelming majority of patients–10,057 of those who died–had a doctor inject the life-ending serum. In the same year 486 Californians self-ingested the drug to end their lives.
People ultimately don’t want to end their lives themselves. But when a trusted doctor approves the life-ending procedure then carries it out, deaths exponentially multiply.
If the Canadian healthcare system wanted to curb MAiD deaths, it could do so immediately by requiring Canadians to self-ingest. It won’t. It’s cheaper to end lives than sustain them; easier to inject a drug then source a mattress.
More and more Canadians’ will die by assisted suicide, and it will be the overburdened, mismanaged healthcare system that pushes them off the ledge.
Resources and links:
Canadian doctors who have signed a declaration affirming life and denouncing MAiD.
Read their statement that affirms their belief Canadians deserve to be treated to live, not left to die
See the list of who they are and where their practices are if you need to consultation or support
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition
Download their helpful resources, including:
Canadian Physicians for Life
If you’re a medical student or doctor and want to connect in to a community of like-minded professionals who live out the hippocratic oath and lean into the challenges of practicing medicine in these times, this is a great place to start.
If you know a medical professional, talk to them about this coalition—it may be the encouragement and community they need!
Note: For our documentary series MAiD in Canada, we talked to the president of the coalition, Nicole Scheidl. She brings incredible insights (see Episode 1).