A disabled Canadian woman, 31, known as Denise, who was conditionally granted assisted suicide has now paused her request to die after sympathisers raised $65k to help her fund suitable accommodation. Denise has said that the root cause of her request was “abject poverty”.

Denise, from Toronto, turned to assisted suicide after she could not find affordable clean housing for herself after suffering from unclean air. Failing to find new accommodation, and still struggling to breathe, Denise requested assisted suicide (known as MAID in Canada), which was approved by two physicians earlier this year.

But Denise’s plight gained media attention, and almost 1,000 well-wishers donated $65,000 to help make her life more liveable.

“It’s mind-blowing and inspiring”, said Denise. She has put her assisted suicide request on pause, she says, though she has not yet cancelled her application.

Denise, who is now living in a hotel with cleaner air, says she just wanted to make her life “more liveable”, but was forced to turn to assisted suicide “because of abject poverty”. A wheelchair user with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), the support Denise receives from Ontario’s Disability Support Program (ODSP) is not currently enough to allow her to afford MCS suitable housing.

“Nothing was offered in terms of support”

There are now calls in Canada for an investigation into Denise’s case and the misuse of MAID.

Denise says that during her assessment for MAID “very little was focused on what services I had, what I needed to achieve some level of normal. Nothing was offered in terms of support.”

Since the passing of MAID in 2016, deaths from assisted death in Canada have increased considerably, with MAID deaths rising to 2,378 in 2020 in Ontario alone.

In 2020, a disabled patient speaking from his hospital bed in Ontario warned Canadian MPs that MAID would lead to vulnerable persons such as himself being pressured into assisted dying, as reported by SPUC.

“A slippery slope”

SPUC’s Michael Robinson, Executive Director (Public Affairs and Legal Services), said: “Denise’s case is profoundly concerning, though not surprising. SPUC and others have warned for years that assisted suicide legislation creates a slippery slope legitimising the killing of vulnerable persons as a default response to the challenges of disability, illness and even poverty.

“We can see this has already happened in Canada within just a few years of the introduction of MAID. Indeed, Canadian funeral homes are even offering assisted suicide rooms, expediting the dystopian process from lethal dose to coffin, all under the same roof.

“We must do all we can to support vulnerable people like Denise. At this current time, however, Canada and other nations – parading counterfeit and ultimately deadly compassion in the form of assisted suicide – are ushering vulnerable persons such as Denise to an early grave.

“Denise’s story is a warning to us all. We must heed that warning for the sake of society, the vulnerable and true compassion.”