A recent Unherd podcast on Canada’s euthanasia regime has an air of depressing inevitability about it. The episode’s guest, Gary Nichols, tells the story of his brother Alan’s 2019 death—a story of mental health issues which should have called Alan’s capacity to consent into question, a request to die based solely on “hearing loss,” and a paternalistic medical regime that didn’t want Alan’s family to have an opportunity to persuade him that living might be better than dying.
Listening to Gary’s testimony, you get the impression of a conveyor belt—once Alan took the first step onto it, the outcome was almost a foregone conclusion. In theory, safeguards are supposed to protect against this. In practice - well, listen to the podcast. Despite this, Flo Read, the podcast host, writes:
“Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, is barreling at breakneck speed towards near total liberalisation. The Canadian system is set to become similar to Belgium’s or Switzerland’s. In March 2021, adults with “incurable diseases” but no foreseeable death were made eligible. Now, the “Special Joint Committee on MAiD” is considering whether to expand the law to “mature minors” (no further clarification given) and offering assisted dying to those with solely mental health conditions. Both tweaks to the law could come into effect in Canada as early as 2023.”
Sadly, none of this is surprising; cases like Alan’s are exactly what critics of assisted suicide and euthanasia expect, and so is the expanding maw of the law. Earlier this year, the President of New Zealand’s End of Life Choice Society said there’s “definitely an appetite” for a more expansive law here. I interviewed palliative care expert Professor Rod MacLeod about this, who said, “To be honest, this is exactly what I was expecting and fearing.”
And it’s not just the law; the pro-euthanasia stance is baked into our institutions. As Professor MacLeod pointed out:
“One of the most striking facts about assisted dying in New Zealand is that the Ministry of Health has no specific full-time equivalent staff currently dedicated to palliative care and yet there are six fixed term full-time equivalent staff dedicated to assisted dying. What message does that send to those who have dedicated their careers to helping those most vulnerable New Zealanders at the end of life …?”
We don’t have to accept the grim inevitability of the conveyor belt. For example, Professor MacLeod argues we should ensure medical students are properly trained in palliative care, and quality end-of-life care is available to everyone wherever they live. But unless and until we start making some of these changes, expect to hear about more cases like Alan’s, and expect to start hearing them closer to home.
Most people view euthanasia laws as a child would: You wanna live? Then live. You wanna die? Then die.
Thanks, Alex, for pointing out some of the nuance. We'd all do well to pause and listen.