Canada has delayed controversial plans to extend assisted suicide to mentally ill Canadians after failing to find enough doctors to implement the policy.
The extension of “Medical Assistance in Dying” (MAiD) to mentally ill Canadians cannot go ahead “because there aren't enough doctors to assess them”, health officials state.
In theory, MAiD is currently applicable to citizens suffering from an incurable (but not necessarily terminal) medical condition. There were 13,241 state-sanctioned assisted suicides in Canada in 2022.
Mark Holland, Canada’s Minister of Health, said: “It’s clear from the conversations we’ve had that the system is not ready, and we need more time…
“Although the curriculum is present, although the guidelines are set, there has not been enough time for people to be trained on them, and provinces and territories are saying their systems are not ready and need more time.”
A report released on Monday found that many medical practitioners had concerns about MAiD and its potential threat to “the most vulnerable in our society”. Out of 5,000 psychiatrists in Canada, just over 100 have so far received training to assist in the suicide of mentally ill patients.
Veterans suffering from PTSD offered assisted suicide in Canada
MAiD deaths in Canada have risen by roughly a third every year in recent times. Since it was introduced in 2016, nearly 45,000 people have been killed through state-sanctioned assisted suicide.
Last year, a cautionary memo was sent to doctors in Quebec after several potentially wrongful suicides in the province, which saw a 54% surge in MAiD deaths between 2021 and 2022.
Numerous horror stories have emerged in recent years about Canadians being granted or recommended assisted suicide for reasons of mental illness and even poverty, including a Canadian ex-soldier suffering from PTSD who was offered assisted suicide through a veteran hotline. Another disgusted veteran revealed that she knew of a dozen veterans given similar offers.
Meanwhile, a doctor bragged that she had helped kill 400 people through assisted suicide in Canada, and that she saw “loneliness and poverty” as good enough reasons to justify her actions.
“A fundamental threat to vulnerable people”
Daniel Frampton, SPUC’s Editorial Officer, said: “Given the current abuse of assisted suicide in Canada and the tens of thousands of deaths since 2016, it’s hardly surprising that psychiatrists baulk at the idea of enabling and essentially assisting in the suicides of patients they want to help.
“It’s clear that many Canadians are rethinking this disastrous law that has led to more death and tragedy, including a cancer patient granted assisted suicide in two days after waiting ten weeks in vain for chemotherapy, leaving behind a heartbroken widow, as reported by SPUC.
“As academics and lawmakers increasingly advocate assisted suicide as a cost-cutting measure, the red flags mount. At a time when the UK is considering a similar law, it is more important than ever before that the public and MPs wake up to the dangers of assisted suicide, which poses a fundamental threat to vulnerable people.”