In the coming months, Canada is preparing to announce that the number of people who have been subjected to euthanasia has exceeded 100,000 people since the law was passed ten years ago, in a shocking statistic that reflects the extent of this controversial practice.
Accelerated expansion of the euthanasia program
The “Medical Assisted Dying” law was passed in Canada in 2016, and since then the number of cases has been rising annually at an accelerating pace. According to the fifth annual report for 2023, the number of people who legally ended their lives reached 15,343 people, an increase of 15.8% over the previous year. It is estimated that about 16,500 people will end their lives in 2024.
Conditions that seem strict… but are flexible in application
The law stipulates that the person must be an adult, mentally competent, and suffer from a “serious illness that cannot be treated,” but the reality revealed that approvals included simple conditions such as diabetes and chronic pain, which made the criteria the subject of widespread controversy. The law also allows two types of procedures:
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The first path: for those who are expected to die naturally soon.
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The second path: for those whose death is not expected soon, but who request medically assisted death.
Accusations of misuse of the program
Several incidents sparked widespread anger, such as the case of a man who ended his life due to hearing loss alone, and another of a doctor who suggested to a patient to end his life to reduce treatment costs. The government also plans to expand the program in March 2027 to include only those suffering from mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, which raises fears that the program will turn into a “legalization of death.”
