August 7, 2024
(Washington) — A new report published by the Canadian think tank Cardus and authored by EPPC Visting Fellow Alexander Raikin exposes the startling rise of euthanasia in Canada.
The report, “From Exceptional to Routine: The Rise of Euthanasia in Canada,” reveals that so-called “medical assistance in dying” (MAiD) is now tied for fifth among leading causes of death in Canada. (Only deaths from cancer, heart disease, COVID-19, and accidents exceed the number of deaths from MAiD.) Far from a rare exception, it has become routine. Contrary to the assurances of its advocates, Raikin points out, by 2022 the practice had increased thirteen-fold since its legalization in 2016. MAiD requests are denied less than 4% of the time. Furthermore, requests can be assessed, approved, and provided in a single day.
Euthanasia in Canada was meant to be “rare” and only a “last resort.” Now, with just seven years of data, Canada has drastically exceeded the government’s own estimates: despite good intentions, Canada created the world’s largest and fastest growing euthanasia program.
—Alexander Raikin, Visiting Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center
While Raikin’s report mostly focused on the slippery slope of MAiD in Canada, it also found notable problems with assisted suicide in Oregon. For example, in 2016, the median number of days for physicians to assess a request for euthanasia, pass the safeguards, explore alternatives, and prescribe a lethal dose for a patient to self-administer was 56 days. Just six years later, the median was down to 29 days.
As the practice spreads across Canada at a shocking rate, it serves as a warning for what happens when governments prioritize an assisted death over an assisted life.
The report can be read in full here.
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Hunter Estes
Director of Communications
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