Annual report: Ever increasing euthanasia in Canada
Canada Health has just published its 5th Report on euthanasia revealing a 15.8% increase in 2023 which represents 15,543 people euthanised, i.e. 4.7% of all deaths.
Designated by the euphemism “Medical assistance in dying or MAiD”, the practice of euthanasia has become widespread whereas less than 5 cases of assisted suicide have been recorded. 19,660 requests were in fact registered, but 2,906 people died before its achievement, 915 requests were considered ineligible and 496 people withdrew their application.
Quebec, the Canadian record holder for MAiD
Three provinces accounted for 85% of the euthanasia practiced: Quebec (36.5%), Ontario (30.3%) and British Columbia (18%).
The report states that “The increased awareness of medical assistance in dying in the context of the continuum of care, the ageing population and the associated sickness patterns, beliefs, community acceptance, as well as the availability of practitioners who provide medical assistance in dying, are all factors which could influence the number of cases”.
Quebec holds the unfortunate record: in total, 5,717 Quebecois received ” medical assistance in dying” in 2023-2024, which represents 7.3 % of deaths in the province.
Euthanasia without death being declared as “reasonably predictable” on the increase
Canadian law has been modified several times during the 10 years since the first legalisation in 2016.
In 2021 euthanasia was extended to the handicapped whose natural death is not “reasonably predictable” which corresponds in the report to Channel 2*, i.e. 4.1% of cases (622 people), an increase of 34% compared with the previous year. Among those people, half of the most frequent health problems mentioned are neurological disorders and the other half are recorded under “other”.
The health problems designated in this second category include diabetes, fragility, auto-immune diseases, chronic pain and mental disorders. But, as stated in the report “Practitioners have sometimes recorded other health problems such as articular and muscular problems, impaired hearing and vision and various internal diseases in the declaration fields.”
Nearly half of the people mentioned the fear of being a burden on the family
Among the 96% of people whose death was “reasonably predictable” referred to as Channel 1*, cancer is the most frequently mentioned disease followed by the “other” category. A special category titled “fragilities” was claimed for 1319 people.
It could include “loss of muscular mass and strength, cognitive deficiency, fatigue or exhaustion, weakness and reduced tolerance of medical interventions, with bad consequences for health”. It was however stated by the reporters that the doctors experienced problems regarding “the MAiD evaluations” for vulnerable people, “in view of the dynamic nature of the fragility and the ambiguities in the interpretation of the admissibility criteria with respect to the said fragility”. It was also discovered that 81 people had been euthanised for dementia, which includes Alzheimer’s disease.
The report also evaluated the nature of suffering declared. Almost half of euthanasia applicants mention the fact of being a burden on the family or entourage (Channel 1 and channel 2). A highly alarming figure, 47% of people whose death is not reasonably predictable mention isolation or solitude.
Palliative care in decline
The report recalls that applications for euthanasia should not be made due to a lack of options regarding end-of-life care or support services for the handicapped. However, 23 % of those euthanised (Channel 1) were not provided with palliative care: that figure rises to 70 % for people whose death was not “reasonably predictable”.
22% of euthanasia are conducted in palliative care centres. As reported by Dr Leonie Herx, ex president of the Canadian company of palliative care doctors during the international conference on the end of life in February 2024: “The legalisation of euthanasia and assisted suicide has totally changed medicine and the practice of palliative care in Canada. Not a single day now passes without euthanasia taking up my time, and it is becoming ever more difficult to manage to provide our unique expertise for the relief of suffering. Many palliative care clinicians are exhausted and demoralised and leave or change their job.” She denounced the lack of means allocated to true palliative care.
The continuous increase of euthanasia in Canada shows how the so-called safeguards are illusory. At a time when pressures are mounting in support of legalisation in France, these figures and situations should act as a warning and call for great caution. Once the prohibition on killing is lifted, no limits can be sustained.
