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RedState’s Kira Davis and I have both written about Canada’s macabre Medical Assitance in Dying (MAiD) law, which allows non-terminally ill people to end their lives with the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government. The law—and its 31,000+ casualties, or a shocking 3.3 percent of all 2021 Canadian deaths—is already creepy enough, but now it’s taking an even darker turn.
Canada is considering allowing kids to end their lives—without the consent of their parents. Per DailyMail:
In its long-awaited report, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) recommended that ‘mature minors’ whose deaths were ‘reasonably foreseeable’ could access assisted suicide, even without parental consent.
The report and its 23 recommendations will be discussed in the House of Commons in the coming months and could prompt revisions of Canada‘s assisted dying laws as soon as this year.
Is it just me, or is Canada getting really weird these days?
First of all, just what the heck is a “mature minor?” Is there a test they must take to prove their wisdom? Or will such a determination just be made by a doctor’s subjective opinion?
Thankfully, not all Canadians are on board:
Today the MAID Committee's report was tabled in the HoC.
The report recklessly recommends expanding MAID.
It even recommends MAID for minors.
I presented the CPC dissenting report. Conservatives will fight this radical expansion to Trudeau’s already disastrous MAID regime. pic.twitter.com/WzcOOiQwOT
— Michael Cooper, MP (@Cooper4SAE) February 16, 2023
The Committee has—for now at least—decided not to recommend that minors with mental health issues be given assistance to end their lives. MAiD would be applicable only to those with incurable physical diseases.
Ultimately, members agreed that children with terminal illnesses, most likely aged between 14 and 17, could be influenced by many factors and that ‘eligibility for MAiD should not be denied on the basis of age alone’.
In their 138-page report, members said the procedure — typically a lethal injection administered by a doctor — should be available to ‘mature minors … whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.’
The reason I say they haven’t recommended MAiD for minors with mental disorders “for now” is because they most likely will in the future:
The Justice Minister's arrogance is on full display. He is so eager to expand MAID to people with mental illness that he thinks that 32 of Canada's leading law professors are wrong and he's the only one who's right. pic.twitter.com/2c0DCd4TbL
— Rob Moore (@RobMoore_CPC) February 15, 2023
I guess since the injection is administered by a doctor, it would be imprecise to call the procedure “suicide.” The correct description would be “homicide.” Brittanica defines homicide thusly:
homicide, the killing of one human being by another. Homicide is a general term and may refer to a noncriminal act as well as the criminal act of murder.
Amy Hasbrouck, a board member of the anti-MAiD group Not Dead Yet, points out the obvious: teen brains aren’t fully developed enough to make such an existential decision like ending their lives:
I think it’s horrible.
Teenagers are not in a good position to judge whether to commit suicide or not. Any teenagers with a disability, who’s constantly told their life is useless and pitiful, will be depressed, and of course they’re going to want to die.
The AMAD Committee released its report today, & I drove home in tears. Suicide contagion is infecting my country. They’re calling for MAID for mature minors now. The day when a depressed, anorexic/bulimic 16-year-old like I was can access MAID may not be so far off. God help us.
— Lia Milousis (@LiaMilousis) February 16, 2023
Other problems jump out about this proposed change to the already-problematic law.
- One, we have a word for “miracles” in our vocabulary because miracles do, in fact, happen. There have been cases where people who doctors said had an incurable and fatal disease went on to enjoy more fruitful time on this planet. Our veterinarian gave our old dog days to live and recommended we put her down because she would be in terrible pain. Instead, she trotted around happily for another year before peacefully passing. (I’m not comparing people to dogs; I’m just pointing out that things don’t always turn out exactly as the experts say they will.)
- Second, I also find it truly disturbing that a teen could choose the MAiD option without parental consent. Imagine reading in the news or hearing from a doctor that your child received a lethal injection and is now dead. Yes, that’s a dark and terrible thought—but it’s exactly what could happen if this is approved.
I can’t imagine having an incurable deadly disease, especially at a young age, and my heart goes out to anyone who receives such a prognosis or who is close to somebody who does.
The state, however, should not be involved in helping teens kill themselves. That I need to say this is, sadly, the sign of the rot of late-stage civilizational decline in our neighbors to the north.
See also:–>
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