“Medical assistance in dying (MAID) has been available in Canada since 2016 and is set to expand in March 2023, extending eligibility to those with a mental illness,” Fox News reports.
Recall our prior report on “medically assisted deaths” in Canada during 2021:
REPORT: 10,000+ Canadians Received “Medically Assisted Death” in 2021
“More Canadians are ending their lives with a medically-assisted death, says the third federal annual report on medical assistance in dying (MAID). Data shows that 10,064 people died in 2021 with medical aid, an increase of 32 per cent over 2020,” according to CTV News.
From Fox News:
Bill C-7 would allow individuals seeking MAID to apply solely on the basis of a mental disorder. Prior to the bill's passage, MAID eligibility was based on having a "grievous and irremediable medical condition," according to a report from the Canadian government on the practice.
Creighton School of Medicine professor Charles Camosy said Wednesday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" the bill would allow "mature minors" to be euthanized by state doctors without the consent of their parents.
WATCH:
https://twitter.com/backtolife_2023/status/1591544691841011713
Here's the full clip from YouTube:
Deseret News added:
As soon as March, Canada could allow “mature minors” to die by euthanasia or assisted suicide without the consent of their parents. “Mature minors” is a loosely defined concept without a specific age; children who are considered able to make their own medical decisions would be able to request a medically assisted death.
To put that in context, before children in Canada can drive vehicles, they may be allowed to consent to physicians taking their lives. Equally appalling is the number of adults speaking in favor of expanding the law to include mature minors and also infants and the mentally ill.
Dying With Dignity Canada has written in support of extending eligibility to minors, proposing 12 as the minimum age requirement.
Dr. Louis Roy, from the Quebec College of Physicians, recently recommended in a parliamentary meeting that babies up to 1 year old be candidates for assisted suicide if they have “severe deformations or very grave and severe syndromes.” While Roy specified that this should be for babies with hopeless diagnoses or extreme suffering, bioethicist and physician Felipe E. Vizcarrondo has said that neonatal euthanasia cannot be “ethically permissible” and “there is much room for parental, physician, personal, social and economic bias.”
In fact, 64% of Canadians support access to medically assisted death for “mature minors.”
Deseret News noted that Canada isn't the only nation to practice euthanasia for minors.
"Netherlands allows it for 12-year-olds with parental consent and 16-year-olds without it," the outlet stated.
"Additionally, euthanasia for babies 12 months and younger is legal in Netherlands."
"Its neighbor to the south, Belgium, has no age restriction, but requires parental consent for children younger than 18 and mandates that the child have a terminal illness or be near death," Deseret News added.
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