The Cautionary Tale of Euthanasia in Canada

The Canadian approach to euthanasia and assisted suicide, euphemistically known as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), has expanded in recent years and has sparked significant debate about its ethical and societal implications.

Euthanasia was first intended only for those nearing the end of their lives. Now, Canada has one of the most permissive euthanasia policies in the world, revealing a rapidly increasing culture of not just accepting death, but actively promoting it.

Veterans have called the Ministry of Veterans Affairs looking for help and been offered euthanasia instead. Those with suicidal ideation have gone to the hospital for help, only to be encouraged to consider euthanasia. A woman was even asked if she was aware of the option of euthanasia before going into cancer-removing surgery.

Canada is increasingly standing as a warning to other countries about the consequences of legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide.

The Slippery Slope

MAiD was first legalized in 2016 for Canadians whose death was “reasonably foreseeable.” At the time, a person had to have a grievous and irremediable medical condition which caused enduring physical or psychological suffering to qualify for euthanasia. Think of someone with a terminal cancer prognosis.

In 2021, just five years after legalization, MAiD was expanded to include those whose “death is not reasonably foreseeable.” With this expansion, people with disabilities or non-terminal illnesses could choose to have a doctor end their lives. Think of someone who is wheelchair bound.

The next expansion has already been passed into law, but implementation has been delayed until March 17, 2027. This would allow Canadians suffering solely from a mental illness to be eligible for euthanasia. Think of someone suffering from depression.

Since legalization, the number of euthanasia deaths in Canada has steadily grown every year and showed little sign of slowing down. Between 2016 and 2023, over 60,000 Canadians have been euthanized, with over 15,000 in 2023 alone. Euthanasia now accounts for 4.7% of all deaths in the country, a rate second only to the Netherlands. Euthanasia is now the fifth most common cause of death in Canada. Compare these numbers with Oregon, the first American state to legalize assisted suicide in 1997. In 2023, 367 people died by assisted suicide in Oregon, or just 0.8% of all deaths in the state.

Of course, Oregon and other American states only permit assisted suicide, where a doctor gives the patient the means to end their own life. In Canada, assisted suicide is permitted but nearly non-existent. Instead, MAiD deaths are almost exclusively due to euthanasia, where a doctor actively ends a patient’s life. In fact, in 2023, over 5,300 euthanasia deaths were done by just 89 medical practitioners, an average of 60 deaths each in just one year. Some Canadian doctors have become experts in killing, with one doctor “administering fatal substances” to over 400 patients.

Canada now effectively allows suicide on demand. While patients may be euthanized due to a specific reason for eligibility, such as illness or disability, it has become clear that some are also requesting and receiving death due to social, economic, or mental suffering.

A Christian Perspective on Suffering

Suffering is usually behind a request for euthanasia. The most commonly cited reasons for a euthanasia request are the loss of ability to engage in meaningful activities (over 95%) or to perform activities of daily living (over 83%). Just under 60% cite inadequate pain control (or fear of it). Over 20% cite isolation and loneliness, and for those not nearing death, the number was nearly 50%. Nearly half note that they feel like a burden on family, friends, or caregivers.

As Christians, we understand that suffering is real on this side of glory. Pain, disease, disability, and mental illness all point to the effects of sin on our world and the need for the world to be renewed. Death itself is referred to by the apostle Paul as the “last enemy that will be destroyed” (1 Corinthians 15).

But we also know that suffering builds us up in ways we cannot now see. As we read in James 1:12: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” We may not know the purpose of suffering. But we can respond to suffering by remaining faithful and giving glory to God. Further, suffering is an opportunity for care. Stephanie Gray Connors writes in her book Start With What, “Every person, in some way, is suffering, and with that reality comes all kinds of opportunities to unleash love.” Suffering allows us to care for each other, and to be cared for. It’s a reminder that we are not in control of our own lives, but reliant first on God, and then on those around us.

And yet, in Canada today, death is increasingly seen as a solution to suffering. Rather than being the enemy, death is seen as an ally.

And yet, in Canada today, death is increasingly seen as a solution to suffering. Rather than being the enemy, death is seen as an ally.

Seeking death as a solution to suffering is a very short-sighted perspective. Paul, in Romans 8, speaks again to the question of human suffering: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. … For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” When face-to-face with sufferings, Christians look forward, not to a quick death, but to everlasting life.

A Christian Understanding of Human Dignity

The third most commonly cited reason behind a euthanasia request was the loss of dignity. Loss of dignity or loss of ability is a real fear for Christians as well. ALS, multiple sclerosis, cancer, or other diseases can devastate bodies and make people entirely reliant on others. As our culture has embraced death for the suffering, “dying with dignity” has come to mean ending life before one becomes too disabled or dependent on others. Nearly 65% of people euthanized in Canada cited ‘loss of dignity’ as a source of suffering behind their request to die.

But, as Christians, we know that dignity is not found in one’s ability, health, or disposition. We know that every person has dignity, simply by the fact that human beings are made in the image of God. Professor Richard Weikart, in his book Unnatural Death writes, “Offering people an ‘easy way’ to end their lives does not let them ‘die with dignity.’ Superficially it may seem compassionate to some. However, in reality, it tells them they are no longer worth helping, that they are nothing but the sum of their aches and pains, their fears and their despair.”

A society ceases to recognize innate human dignity at their peril. Canada’s initial euthanasia law is based on the arbitrary idea that some human beings have dignity and some do not; some lives are worth living and some are not. The growth of euthanasia since 2016 in Canada has demonstrated the serious problems with that approach, adding more and more people to the category of life not worth living. Dependence is not necessarily a bad thing; we are dependent on the True Vine for life (John 15:1-11) and are created to rely on others (Gen. 2:18).

The Christian Call to Care for the Vulnerable

Proverbs 24:11-12 speaks to how Christians should confront the spectra of euthanasia. In that passage, we are called to:

“Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man according to his work?”

We are called to rescue those who are considering or being encouraged to end their lives. And Christians ought to do this by caring for those who are suffering. Underlying every desire or request to die is a request for help.

One woman who was euthanized in 2021 wrote before her death, “I think if more people cared about me, I might be able to handle the suffering caused by my physical illnesses alone.” Many today suffer without a church community, without a caring family, and perhaps without friends. The Church has a responsibility to care for those who are suffering and to emphasize the dignity of human life in all circumstances. We are called to love and care for our neighbours at a very personal level. And ultimately, suffering people need the hope of the Gospel, to know the One who gives true meaning and purpose to life.

But Christians also need to be involved at the political level, in Canada, the United States, and around the world. We cannot pretend that some form of euthanasia or assisted suicide is not legal in (parts of) our country or ignore calls for the legalization of euthanasia. We must speak out when a government that allows assisted suicide or euthanasia endorses the idea that some lives are not worth living. Instead of healthcare that seeks to promote and preserve life, it crosses the line into ending life and providing death. Christians must continue to promote life-affirming care for everyone, through personal care for the suffering and by advocating for life-affirming care on a broader scale.