Thursday, February 2, 2023

Canada to delay euthanasia for mental illness until March 2024.

This is not a victory. The government is only delaying the implementation of euthanasia for mental illness.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

David Fraser reported for The Canadian Press that Justice Minister David Lametti introduced Bill C-39 to delay the implementation of euthanasia for mental illness (for one year) until March 17, 2024.

Bill C-7, which was passed on March 17, 2021, among other things, legalized euthanasia for mental illness with a two-year moratorium. Therefore euthanasia for mental illness alone was to be implemented on March 17, 2023. The latest government plan delays the implementation for one more year.

This is not a victory since it only delays the implementation of euthanasia for mental illness. 

Further to that, I do not trust the government. As stated by Peter Zimonjic for CBC news:

If Bill C-39 is not passed by March 17 of this year, MAID for people solely suffering from mental illness will become law in Canada. The legislation cannot be passed after that date because the two-year time limit will have ended.

It is possible that the bill to delay implementation of euthanasia for mental illness will be held up or defeated in the Senate and thus permitting euthanasia for mental illness on March 17, 2023.

David Lametti
According to the Canadian Press report:

Canadians whose sole condition is a mental disorder will not be eligible for a medically assisted death for another year under legislation introduced in the House of Commons Thursday.

Justice Minister David Lametti introduced the bill seeking to delay extending the eligibility until March 17, 2024.

“We need to be prudent. We need to move step by step, making sure that people within the profession, Canadian society at large, has internalized this step,” Lametti told reporters.

“To be honest, we could have gone forward with the original date, but we want to be sure. We want to be safe. We want everybody to be on the same page.”

The Liberal government backed off from implementing euthanasia for mental illness this year because most psychiatrists are stating that it is impossible to determine if a person with a mental illness has an irremediable medical condition, as required by the law. 

There have also been many sad stories of people with disabilities who died by euthanasia based on poverty, homelessness or an inability to receive medical treatments.

People with mental illness are often living in poverty, experiencing homelessness or unable to get the necessary treatment for mental illness. Permitting euthanasia for people with mental illness is not about autonomy but rather abandonment of people in need of care.

Yesterday I reported that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith objects to expanding euthanasia to include mental illness. Québec has already objected to euthanasia for mental illness. Provinces must assert their constitutional authority and prevent euthanasia for mental illness.

Further reading:

3 comments:

  1. “We need to be prudent. We need to move step by step, making sure that people within the profession, Canadian society at large, has internalized this step,” Lametti told reporters. IN other words, Canadians have to be habituated and conditioned to this new idea of killing citizens before they move to kill Canadian infants... That's not elitist and patronizing at all. Nope. Not. At. All.

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  2. Just a delay until after an election.
    We know now there will be an election in 2023.

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  3. How can we even consider such a move? Some of the happiest folks I know are mentally ill. And some of them are firmly stable. How would we feel if we were traded places with someone mentally ill? Please folks don’t let this go through.
    God has a purpose for each of His people. “Thou shalt not kill “

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