Netherlands: 517 people died by euthanasia without request in 2021.

Netherlands: 22% of the assisted deaths were not reported in 2021.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director,
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Netherlands has had a problem with euthanasia without request (LAWER) and the under-reporting of euthanasia since the inception of its euthanasia law.

Every five years the Netherlands government has commissioned a study to determine the number of deaths by medical and end-of-life decisions. The study is done by researchers who send questionnaires to physicians to determine how a random person died within a given year.

The questions seek to determine the number of deaths from all causes, including euthanasia, assisted suicide and ending of life without explicit request. The questionnaires allow the physician to respond anonymously, the data effectively uncovers the actual number of assisted deaths within a given year.

The Netherlands 2021 study (one year later than usual) found that there were 9,799 assisted deaths representing 9038 euthanasia deaths, 245 assisted suicide deaths and 517 ending of life without explicit request (LAWER).

LAWER involves the intentional ending of a person without an explicit request. I oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide but I recognize that killing someone without request or consent remains a criminal homicide in nearly every jurisdictions, even when it is tolerated.

The 2021 study indicated that there were 517 LAWER deaths in the Netherlands representing approximately 0.3% of all deaths. 

It is important to note that 6 of the deaths were newborns, also known as infanticide who would have been killed based on the Groningen protocol. Newborns with disabilities can be injected with lethal drugs in the Netherlands when a parent and doctor agree that the prospects for the child are poor or the child is considered "incompatible with life."

As stated, the Netherlands government commissions a study every five years. The 2015 study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in an article titled: End-of-Life Decisions in the Netherlands over 25 years. The researchers published the 2015 study as a comparison to the previous studies.

The data from the 2015 study indicated that there were 7254 assisted deaths representing 6672 euthanasia deaths, 150 assisted suicide deaths, 431 ending of life without explicit request.

The 517 LAWER deaths in 2021 and the 431 LAWER deaths in 2015 represent a similar percentage of all deaths in the Netherlands meaning that doctors in the Netherlands continue, at a similar rate, to kill people without an explicit request or consent.

Do physicians in other countries, including Canada intentionally kill people without an explicit request or consent. The answer is likely YES, but unlike the Netherlands and Belgium, other countries are not commissioning studies with specific questions to uncover the truth.

The issue of under-reporting of euthanasia in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands 2021 euthanasia report stated that the number of reported euthanasia deaths in the Netherlands was to 7666. The report also indicated that there were 206 reported euthanasia deaths for early stage dementia and 6 reported euthanasia deaths for late stage dementia and 115 reported euthanasia deaths for "severe" mental illness.

The data from the 2021 Netherlands government study found that there were 9,799 assisted deaths but the data from the Netherlands 2021 euthanasia report indicated that there were 7666 assisted deaths. Therefore (9,799 - 7,666) there were 2133 unreported assisted deaths in the Netherlands in 2021 representing approximately 22% of all assisted deaths.

Has under-reporting of euthanasia been a consistent problem in the Netherlands?

The 2015 study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine End-of-Life Decisions in the Netherlands over 25 years indicated that there were 7254 assisted deaths in 2015.

The Netherlands 2015 official euthanasia report stated that there were 5561 reported assisted deaths but the data from the 2015 Netherlands government study indicated that there were 7254 assisted deaths meaning that there were 1693 unreported assisted deaths in 2015 representing about 23% of all assisted deaths in 2015.

When examining the data from previous Netherlands studies, it appears that more than 20% of all assisted deaths are consistently not reported.

Does Canada have a similar problem with under-reporting?

Canada legalized euthanasia (MAiD) in 2016. The Canadian government has not commissioned a death study to determine if abuse of the law occurs. The Québec euthanasia data indicates that there is under-reporting of euthanasia.

Amy Hasbrouck, the past president of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and the leader of Toujours-Vivant (Not Dead Yet) analyzed the Quebec 2021-22 euthanasia report and found a discrepancy of 289 euthanasia deaths. Hasbrouck reported:

The Commission reported 3,663 euthanasia deaths declared by doctors during the fiscal year (p. 13), while the number of euthanasia deaths reported by facilities (3,629) and the Collège des Médecins du Québec (323) totalled 3,952 (p. 25 at note 25); a discrepancy of 289 deaths.

Hasbrouck found in the 2021 - 22 Québec annual euthanasia report a 7% likely under-reporting rate. Under-reporting of euthanasia may be occurring in the rest of Canada, but it is impossible to determine what is actually happening unless the Canadian government commissions a similar study to the Netherlands 5 year studies.

American assisted suicide laws.

There is evidence that under-reporting of assisted suicide is likely occurring in the US states that have legalized assisted suicide. 

For instance, the 2024 Oregon assisted suicide report indicated that there were 376 reported assisted suicide deaths in 2024. (There were likely close to 400 reported assisted suicide deaths since every year a percentage of the assisted suicide reports are received late).

The 2024 Oregon assisted suicide report indicated that the ingestion status is unknown in 178 cases. When the ingestion status is unknown, it means that the 178 people were approved for assisted suicide and received the lethal drugs but the Oregon Health Authority OHA does not know if they died by assisted suicide. Since no oversight exists and no research has not been done to confirm how these people died therefore it is impossible to say with certainty that unreported assisted suicide deaths are happening, but it is likely.

My conclusions.

The Netherlands 2021 study indicates that euthanasia without explicit consent and unreported euthanasia deaths continue.

In August 2013 I published the book: Exposing Vulnerable People to Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide which examined the data from the Netherlands and Belgian euthanasia studies. The purpose of the book was to warn the world that the legalizing euthanasia did not eliminate medical homicide, that in fact normalizing euthanasia appeared to increase the number of medical homicides.

Exposing Vulnerable People concluded that - when an assisted death was done "outside of the parameters of the law" that the death was rarely reported. It is likely that, if the researchers closely examined the 517 life-ending without request assisted deaths in 2021 they would likely find that most of these deaths were not reported.

Exposing Vulnerable People also concluded that the majority of LAWER deaths were done in a hospital to an incompetent person who was unable to consent. 

Without a data breakdown of the 2021 study data I cannot assume a similar conclusion but earlier data clearly indicated this reality.

I found it interesting that unlike the previous Netherlands government death studies (every 5 years), there was no analysis of the data which is why I am writing this article in 2025.

The 2021 Netherlands study proves that euthanasia deaths without explicit request or consent continues to happen and that more than 20% of the Netherlands euthanasia deaths continue to be not reported.

The data from the study should also ask the question, is there a similar phenomenon of killing patients without explicit request or consent happening in Canada or other countries and it should ask how many unreported euthanasia deaths happen in Canada and other countries? A study needs to be commissioned by neutral researchers to determine the answers to these questions.

Legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide does not eliminate the phenomenon of medical homicide and the normalization of euthanasia seems to justify these acts.

Support Bill C-218. No MAiD for Mental Illness.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director,
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

On June 25 I reported that on June 20, 2025, Tamara Jansen (MP - Cloverdale - Langley City) introduced private members Bill C-218 in the House of Commons to prevent euthanasia (MAiD) for mental illness by excluding mental illness from being defined as a "grievous and irremediable medical condition" for the purposes of MAiD. Bill C-218 will prevent MAID for mental illness alone.

Sign the petition in support of Bill C-218 (Link).

When the Canadian government expanded the euthanasia law in March 2021 by passing Bill C-7, one of the expansions in the law permitted euthanasia for a mental illness alone. At that time the government approved euthanasia for mental illness alone with a two-year moratorium to give time to prepare.

After two delays, last year the government further delayed the implementation of euthanasia for mental illness alone until March 17, 2027

On July 9, A media conference was held by MP's Tamara Jansen and Andrew Lawton in support of Bill C-218. The MP's were joined by Graydon Nicholas (former Judge, Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick and First Nations Advocate) and Alicia Duncan, whose mother died by euthanasia (MAiD) after experiencing a brain injury from a car accident.

Jen Hodgson reported for the Western Standard on July 10 that:

Conservative MPs Tamara Jansen (Cloverdale-Langley City, BC) and Andrew Lawton (Elgin-St. Thomas-London South, ON) have reintroduced Bill C-218, which would amend the Criminal Code to prevent mental illness from qualifying as the sole criterion for medical assistance in dying (MAiD).

Andrew Lawton MP

Hodgson reported what Andrew Lawton said at the press conference:

Lawton, speaking at a press conference Wednesday, said he is a suicide survivor, having attempted to kill himself in 2010 after a battle with his mental health. He said if MAiD had been an option back then, he might have been tempted to accept it.

“C-18 will save lives,” said Lawton.

“Fifteen years ago, I very nearly succeeded in ending my life to suicide,” he said, explaining this was the culmination of a years-long battle with mental illness.

Article: Suicide is a symptom of mental illness - not a cure for it (Link).

Hodgson further reported what Lawton said:

“People who went through what I went through 15 years ago believe that their life would get better,” said Lawton.

“I never would have believed (then) that I would be standing here today as a member of Parliament, as a husband, as someone that has a life I am so happy with.”

“And that’s only because I had the care and support I needed to go through what I did and come out the other side.”

“The message that I share with anyone struggling with mental illness is that I got better.”

“There is hope.”

“The people struggling have a right to recovery.”

“I am not convinced that I would be here today if MAiD were available 15 years ago for people with mental illness.”

For Bill C-218 to be successful, we will need stories from Canadians who have lived with, (or currently live with) mental health concerns and who may have died by euthanasia (MAiD) if it had been available at that time. Contact us with your story at: info@epcc.ca

Hodgson interviewed Lawton on July 10. Hodgson reported:

“I think we need to put a human face on this. This isn't just an abstract thing. This is something that affects very real people and very real stories that are not just my own, but shared by millions of Canadians and their families,” Lawton told the Western Standard Thursday.

Lawton said the bill has been slotted in for debate and a second reading in the fall parliamentary session, and they are estimating that it will take place in November or December.

He added he is hoping for a cross-party appeal, which means MPs can vote with their convictions rather than based on party lines.

“So I'm hoping we can build off of that and get some more support from Liberal members of parliament so that we can just pass this. This is too important to be a partisan issue,” said Lawton.

Sign the petition in support of Bill C-218 (Link).

Alicia Duncan

Alicia Duncan told the story of how her mother died by MAiD in 2021. Malin Jordon reporting for the Cloverdale-Langley Reporter wrote:

Alicia Duncan said her mother Donna was suffering from mental health issues in Abbotsford in 2021.

She had been in a car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury.

She called the laws surrounding MAID “poorly legislated” and said her mother struggled for 20 months to get help that would have made difference in her life.

Duncan found out two days ahead of time that her mother was scheduled to go in for medical-assisted suicide.

“My sister and I—knowing that she had no terminal diagnosis, no diagnosis other than depression—(knew) something was very wrong,” Duncan said. “We believed that we could stop this because surely the law would protect someone like my mom in a mental health crisis.”

Alicia Duncan said that:

 “I am terrified of what will happen in March 2027 if we allow this to expand for people that do have a mental health condition.”

Canada has currently approved that euthanasia for mental illness will begin in March 2027. 

 

Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative party tweeted support for Bill C-218 by stating:

MP Tamara Jansen’s The Right to Recover Act will save countless lives. It says that mental illness is not sufficient grounds for Medical Assistance in Dying. Thanks to MP @AndrewLawton for courageously sharing his story. 

Our loved ones suffering with their mental health deserve support, not assisted death from the government. Recovery is possible. We will not give up on them.

Bill C-218 will require support from many Liberal MP's in order to pass. Lawton is absolutely correct to say that real stories are needed.

Elder suicide in Switzerland has quadrupled in 25 years.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Swissinfo reported on July 10, 2025 that the elder suicide rate has quadrupled over the past 25 years. The data is upsetting but it should not surprise people considering that society has been telling the elderly that they are better off dead.

It is important to note that the Swiss suicide rates for people under the age of 65 have gone down over the past 25 years while the suicide rate for people from 65 to 84 has increased significantly and the suicide rate for people over the age of 85 has quadrupled.

Swissinfo reported:

Senior citizens were 42 times more likely to take their own lives in 2023 than people in other age groups, according to Swiss public broadcaster, RTS.

And the numbers are increasing: in the past 25 years, the proportion of over 85-year-olds in Switzerland who decide to take their life has quadrupled. Among 65- to 84-year-olds, this proportion has doubled.

In contrast, the suicide rate among the younger population has fallen by around 30% in the past two decades.

The increased suicide rate, in Switzerland, appears to be related to the acceptance of assisted suicide. Swissinfo reported on the question of whether suicide is linked to assisted suicide:

There is controversy among experts as to whether assisted suicides and unassisted suicides can be linked at all.

According to Pierre Vandel, head physician at Lausanne University Hospital, “it is possible to opt for assisted suicide without having suicidal thoughts”. However, he explains that some of his colleagues make no distinction in this respect.

Euthanasia organisations take a different view. “Conscious suicides are different from others,” says Jean-Jacques Bise, Co-President of Exit in French-speaking Switzerland.

The figures from RTS suggest that the two types of suicide could be linked. In very old people, the statistical curves of the two types of suicide cross at the beginning of the 2010s, an indication that from then on there was a shift from unaccompanied to accompanied suicides.

The article examined the differences between men and women. The article states:

The figures also show that there are stark differences between men and women. Until the early 2010s, women took their own lives much less frequently than men.

Since then, the number of assisted suicides has also risen sharply among women, and women almost exclusively end their lives in this way of their own accord. In contrast, there is still a comparatively high proportion of unassisted suicides among men.

“Men express their feelings less than women,” explains psychiatrist Pierre Vandel. That is why it is more difficult for them to recognise suicidal thoughts and help them in time. This explains the tendency of men to take their own lives more often without support.

In America, a similar phenomenon has occurred. Like Switzerland the highest suicide rate in America is among the elderly. Similar to Switzerland, the suicide rate among the elderly was much lower in the past. There is significant proof that the suicide rate in Oregon is directly connected to the acceptance of assisted suicide.

There have been several studies that have examined the connection between suicide, euthanasia and assisted suicide. Most studies suggest that suicide rates increases when assisted suicide and euthanasia are normalized.

More articles on this topic:

• Suicide deaths increasing in America. Elderly Americans now have the highest suicide rate (Link).
• US suicide rates are now highest among the elderly (Link).
• Suicide contagion (Link).
• Legalizing assisted dying can actually increase suicides (Link). 
• Suicide rates in jurisdictions that have legalized assisted suicide are not decreasing (Link).
  

Two stories: Support Bill C-218. Oppose MAiD for mental illness.

The following true stories were sent to our EPC "Story Contest" by supporters who wish to share their personal experience in support of Bill C-218, a bill that would prevent euthanasia of people living with mental illness (as sole underlying medical condition)

Please visit our "contributor info" page (Link). "recent stories" (Link). and "story index" (Link). We would be thrilled to receive your story (whether fact or creative fiction) at: story@epcc.ca

All formats are welcome, including short videos.

On June 20, 2025 Tamara Jansen (MP) introduced Bill C-218 in the House of Commons to reverse the law which permits euthanasia for mental illness that is scheduled to begin on March 17, 2027 in Canada. (Article Link). 

--------------------

Supporting Bill C-218 - Opposing Euthanasia for mental illness.

By Patti

I battled severe suicidal bipolar depression and PTSD for most of my life.

I grew up in a severely abusive household. My first suicide attempt was at age 4. I deliberately rode my tricycle down a flight of cement stairs and fractured my skull.

Throughout the following decades, I tried many times to kill myself using various means. I also tried to drink myself to death. I was given many medications to treat my illness, but all I would do is overdose on them while drunk and end up in the hospital. I drank to escape the feelings of sadness, worthlessness and self hate. Finally I went to rehab for the alcohol, and had a mental breakdown while I was there. I was sent to a hospital where I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

After three rounds of electroshock therapy (ECT) I was still suicidal. I obsessed about dying and couldn't stop thinking about it and planning ways to kill myself that would work.

Several years ago I finally discovered by accident that a small dose of cannabis each day got rid of my depression. I'm still on low dose prescription medication to prevent bipolar mood swings.

I'm happy with my life now and I'm glad I didn't succeed in killing myself. I guarantee that if MAID had been available while I was obsessing about suicide, I'd have signed up for it. Now I am violently opposed to MAID, which is why I read articles on your website and share them on social media.

I hope this story will help to get Bill C-218 passed.

 

My Story (Mental Illness)

By Eric

In 2003, I was diagnosed as having schizophrenia.

The following year, I was having thoughts of suicide.

I am glad that there was no MAID for mental illness at that time for I might very well have chosen MAID.

I now live a contented life and have been helped tremendously by the teachings of Buddhism, which have greatly, if not completely, eliminated the symptoms of what I was diagnosed as having.

MAID for mental illness would, in my estimation, cause many unnecessary deaths and kill a lot of people who would otherwise have overcome their suicidal tendencies given enough time.

MAID for mental illness is, in my opinion, a grievous and very serious mistake which should NEVER become public policy in Canada.

Zoom Event: Seeking Medicine's Moral Centre

Tom Koch

Don't miss our next EPC Zoom Event:

Join us on Wednesday July 16 at 10 am (Pacific Time) / 1 pm (Eastern Time) for an excellent discussion on how ethics have changed and how it led to our current euthanasia and assisted suicide laws.

Register in advance (Registration Link)

Join Professor Tom Koch and Alex Schadenberg as they discuss (MAiD) euthanasia in Canada as it relates to his new book: Seeking Medicine's Moral Centre, Ethics, Bioethics and Assisted Dying.

Tom has been a long time critic of the ethical assumptions related to euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Tom is a defender of the Hippocratic ethic of medical care. His new book marks the history of change in medical ethics over the past 30 years. It is important to understand how we got to where we are before we can effectively reverse the trend.

Tom an expert who I have respected for many years. His writing are based on indepth research and reality rather than ideology. He is always open to respectful discussion.

Tom is an intellectual who is capable of speaking with everyone. Tom is known for his research and his consistent ethical position.

Register in advance (Registration Link)

Genocide or Healthcare?

This article was published by Kelsi Sheren on July 7 on her substack.

Kelsi Sheren

“We were just doing our job”…..right, the Nazi’s said the same thing.

By Kelsi Sheren

AGAIN Canada’s true colours are showing and the medical system, government and every Dr that approved this poor soul to die have blood on their hands. There’s something deeply wrong with Canada and it’s medical system. I have been SCREAMING about people who fall through the cracks like this and we need to talk about it.

Right now.

Normand Meunier & Sylvie Brosseau

Meet Normand Meunier: 66 years old, quadriplegic, and fighting desperately just to get basic care at Quebec's Saint-Jérôme Hospital. Did he die peacefully or comfortably? Hell no. He died from pure, evil, cold neglect.

Normand’s final weeks were straight-up horrifying. His widow, Sylvie Brosseau, described bedsores so brutal “they exposed muscle and bone”, leaving him in relentless agony. Imagine lying there, day after day, suffering beyond comprehension, and all you needed was a specialized mattress, but of course it’s nowhere to be found because all of our money is in Carney’s pockets Israel, Ukraine and ANYWHERE BUT Canada. It’s a damn mattress! Canada, not rocket science. Your tax dollars, my tax dollars, all flowing into a healthcare system and other government’s. Canada has apparently forgotten how to care, keep people alive and all because of organizations like DWDC, MAID Canada and CAMAP are telling Dr they should just kill instead.

But wait, Canada, our great toxic compassionate nation, did have one immediate solution ready: DEATH.

"I don't want to be a burden," Normand said before choosing euthanasia. This line should shake you to your core. Our government has moved from failing to care, straight to actively encouraging death as the easy way out. Compassion? No. This is cold, strategic cruelty wrapped neatly in false kindness.

When MAiD was introduced, it was sold to Canadians as a humane option for those with terminal illnesses facing unbearable pain. Although some of us saw right through the BS and the real plan was obvious. Kill instead of care. What we've ended up with is nothing short of a bureaucratic killing machine and one that is insanely effectively. Almost like they’ve installed a “easy button” for the government. Cough, cough… sound’s like eugenics to me. Because if it walks like death, talk’s like death and kill’s like death. It’s eugenics.

Too disabled, elderly, chronically ill, or mentally struggling? Congratulations, you’re now inconvenient and expensive, so here’s your government-approved ticket out.

Canada's healthcare system has become disturbingly comfortable with death as policy. Steven Laperrière from RAPLIQ isn’t sugarcoating anything when he says, “MAiD is becoming an alternative to decent care, and the numbers will explode.” In simple terms, Canada finds it cheaper and easier to offer euthanasia than to actually care for people properly.

Think about it. “Nobody will convince me that within a few hours the proper mattress could not have been found,” Laperrière insists. Normand Meunier would likely be alive right now if our healthcare system wasn't so screwed up with red tape and government negligence.

But hey, why bother fixing a broken system when you can just offer to kill the people it fails?

Sadly, Normand isn't alone, and not even remotely close. Jean Truchon, another Quebec resident, pushed for expanded euthanasia laws. But guess what? He didn't actually want to die; he wanted better care. In 2016, he even admitted it clearly he wouldn't have chosen death if decent home care was available. Did the government pay attention? Nope. They praised him after his death, conveniently ignoring their responsibility to provide basic support.

Wake up, Canada! When are you going to take your head out of the sand and see, this isn’t oversight. It's deliberate. It's dark. Our government is failing citizens by design, fast-tracking death instead of ensuring dignity and care.

Countries around the world, especially the UK, need to see Canada as a stark, urgent warning. The second a government starts promoting death as a convenient solution, true care becomes expendable. Canada’s healthcare, once praised worldwide, has become a disgraceful system that reduces human lives to budget lines and liabilities.

We’re at a crucial tipping point. Canadians need to demand better, immediately. The government’s primary job isn’t to kill off those deemed inconvenient it’s to provide compassionate, effective, and dignified care to every single person.

We have to pay attention as to why no Canadian media picked this story up, it’s spoken about all over the UK but not the state funded media. Is it because this show’s Canadians and the rest of the world who our government really is? Stone cold murderers and anyone who is voting for this is complicit and in my opinion should be called out as one and charged.

This is no longer just about right and wrong, this is dark and light. There is a spiritual war happening here. MAiD, the Dr’s who do it and CAMAP are dark, evil and will be remembered as Canada’s modern day eugenicist.

“We were just doing our job”…..right, the Nazi’s said the same thing.

If we don’t speak up, and hold them accountable now, and demand this stop immediately, only one horrifying question remains.

Who’s next?

Previous articles by Kelsi Sheren (Link).

I didn't steal the book that I flushed in the toilet.

Meghan Schrader

By Meghan Schrader
Meghan is an instructor at E4 - University of Texas (Austin) and an EPC-USA board member.

Purchase the book: Unravelling MAiD in Canada from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (Link).

Some people who read my post about throwing Stefanie Green’s book in a toilet on the EPC blog want to know where I got the book. Some have mused that perhaps I stole a copy. I didn’t; I need to keep my job.

Other than setting that straight, though, I’m not going to say where I got the book. There are various ways to acquire a book without the author getting a royalty. For instance, maybe you could convince someone who bought the book to give you their copy as a present, or maybe you could buy a used copy.

But I think maybe the people who asked that question want me to say that I stole the book and then complain about how how evil I am for stealing it, and then of course for me to be prosecuted for petty theft.

I don’t want to encourage petty theft, especially for marginalized people who might be vulnerable to being treated harshly by the criminal justice system. Nevertheless, I feel that sanctimonious indication toward someone who might have stolen Stefanie Green’s book reflects the right to die movement, and our culture’s, misplaced priorities.

The book costs $28 at Barnes and Noble. Are you a “MAiD” supporter who is mad that maybe I stole a $28 book from Barnes and Noble? Are the lives of people with disabilities worth less than $28 to you?

Maybe direct your righteous indignation towards saving the lives of disabled people who could have been saved with the proper support instead of saving a stupid book.

Where I got the book is not very important. What’s important is that the book was lonely and it needed to go back to the toilet to be with its family.

I did the right thing.

Previous articles by Meghan about Stephanie Green's book:

• I threw Stephanie Green's book in a toilet (Link).
• Are my blog posts tantrums (Link).
  

Meghan Schrader: Are My Blog Posts Tantrums?

Meghan Schrader

By: Meghan Schrader
Meghan is an instructor at E4 - University of Texas (Austin) and an EPC-USA board member. 

Previous blog articles by Meghan Schrader (Link).

Recently an X user wrote in response to my toilet blog post: “Meghan Schrader's tantrums won't affect any Canadians who wish to access MAID but tell her thanks anyway.” I imagine that this is the reaction that most right to die leaders will have to that post if they read it: “Dude, throw my book in a toilet if that makes you happy. I’m still going to do what I do.” I’m sure there are many readers out there who think that my blog posts and X comments are “tantrums.”

Well, in a way, they are. Although civil disobedience has a longstanding role in disability justice advocacy, me throwing someone’s internationally acclaimed collection of snuff stories in a toilet is probably as effective as a “tantrum;” it is unlikely to change the situation on its own. I was asked to write blogs for the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition so I do, even though I don’t think that the people in charge of the publishing companies that have republished Green’s dreck in multiple languages are going to see my blog post about the toilet and conclude, “Oh my gosh, Meghan’s right, Canada’s “MAiD” program is disgusting! And to think we spent all that time promoting Green’s Ted Talk!”

But I enjoy using hyperbole. I love John Oliver and Stephen Colbert’s use of sarcasm and observational comedy to lampoon cultural trends. I wish people like that would do segments about how the “MAiD” movement helps take the world’s abuse of people with disabilities to its lowest common denominator and some of my statements are meant to be a blog post or social media version of that. Unlike me and most other assisted suicide opponents, Colbert and Oliver have billions of followers, but are their skits going to make all of the injustice in the world go away? No, but perhaps their comedy still has a role in contributing to public discourse about oppression. I have, at times, spoken harshly in the wrong context and have needed to apologize, but that is rare. The intended objects of my most intense statements aren’t wounded souls whose terminally ill parent shot themselves, they are the shameless ableists who want to kill disabled children and set up up doctors panels to decide whether people with severe mental illnesses like I’ve experienced should be killed without their consent.

Although I realize that my own impact is limited, I can’t help but want to push back against the proponents’ entitled expectation that opponents will respond to all of their goals with the utmost respect and nuance. I am capable of nuanced debate, but since a lot of my advocacy happens in short blog posts and X threads, I’ve generally decided to model a lack of tolerance for persons who bully vulnerable people into assisted suicide.

I think all activists have to use the tools we have with humility. Much smarter disability justice scholars and lawyers who have published award-winning books and done Ted Talks have worked to change the adherents’ minds, yet they have not been able to convert them all. I believe in God, and I’m sure that He is working to interrupt the right to die movement’s activities. If His intervention has not made all of the proponents’ activities go away, why would I think that my blog posts and Twitter threads can do that?

But I don’t think throwing up one’s hands and letting the right to die movement go unanswered because one does not have a lot of power is the right response either. A lot of disabled people who aren’t privileged enough to publish their thoughts in a peer-reviewed journal or lead parliamentary hearings have used the lifeline of #DisabilityTwitter to help oppose assisted suicide. (I still find X to be an accessible platform and valuable opportunity for community, but since Elon Musk ridiculously elimated Twitter’s nascent Accessibility Experience Team in 2022, a lot of these individuals have moved to BlueSky.) Regardless of what platform is being used, I think using social media to bring awareness to Canada’s “MAiD” program helped prevent the expansion of “MAiD” to people with mental illnesses that was planned for 2023. My “useless” X presence gave me the privilege of helping my friend “Amy,” and that was definitely worthwhile. ADAPT’s 2014 protest outside a conference of the World Federation of Right To Die Societies did not cause that organization to collapse, but I still think it was valuable for ADAPT to show up and communicate that not everyone is willing to fawn over a movement that treats disabled people like pigs and car accident statistics. Singer and songwriter John Pike produced a scathing, satirical music video about Canada’s “MAiD” program called “Public Service Announcement From the Canadian Government” and I think that video is one of the coolest things around.

History is full of things that no longer exist because enough ordinary individuals refused to put up with them. Historically, the disability justice movement has played a critical role in slowing and stopping the assisted suicide movement’s efforts; that’s why one bioethicist who used to support assisted suicide apologized in 2004. It’s why “MAiD” did not sweep across the globe after Oregon’s law was passed in 1994 or during the uptick in right to die sensationalism in 2015. It’s why so many Labour politicians in the UK voted against its assisted suicide bill and why the New York assisted suicide bill was opposed by 27 Democrats.

Privileged “MAiD” activists who have admitted that they are willing to murder marginalized people seem to have the smug expectation that everyone will eventually join their death cult. Some of the content of my advocacy is my attempt to help make unequivocal, continuing opposition to their agenda visible in whatever small way that I can.

The hundreds of disability justice advocates who aren’t me aren’t giving up. That’s why the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of People with Disabilities opposes “MAiD.” That’s why most disability justice organizations in the world have fought assisted suicide. Righteous indignation over disabled people’s wrongful deaths is why disability justice pioneers with more talent than me are filing lawsuits and publishing their own anti assisted suicide work.

That movement to prevent disabled people’s wrongful deaths is worth being part of. And hopefully someday that opposition will reinstitute disabled people’s equal access to suicide prevention, which is key to advancing our human rights in general. So I will go ahead and keep having my “tantrums.”

Previous blog articles by Meghan Schrader (Link). 

Register for the next Compassionate Community Care - Visitor Training Program - July 9 and 10.

Kathy Matusiak Costa

Register for the free online visitor training program and becoming involved with visiting people in your community who are elderly and/or living alone.

 

Register online (Registration Link).

 

Caring for people. Gain the confidence to journey with those who are lonely, socially isolated, sick, or dying, to renew their hope and purpose in living until they die.

 

Alex Schadenberg

FREE Online Training – Live on Zoom! 

The Training Workshop is composed of two sessions, each session is two hours held on: 

Wednesday July 9 (7 pm - 9 pm) (EST)

Thursday July 10 (7 pm - 9 pm) (EST)

With Kathy Matusiak Costa, Executive Director of Compassionate Community Care, and Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. 

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Assisted suicide puts a price on my head.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Kate Ferguson reported for The Sun News that Lord Kevin Shinkwin, a member of the House of Lords, considers the UK assisted suicide bill, that narrowly passed in the UK House of Commons, said that if the assisted suicide bill was legalized in the past that he would not be alive today. Ferguson wrote:

Lord Kevin Shinkwin said the Terminally Ill Adults Bill “puts a price on my head” and he would have felt pressure to agree to having a lethal injection over fear of being a burden.

The Tory's warning comes as campaigners vow to fight the assisted dying bill in the Lords after MPs narrowly backed it by just 23 votes on Friday.

Lord Shinkwin, 54, is a disability rights campaigner who has a severe form of brittle bone disease.

Ferguson further reported Lord Shinkwin as stating:

He said: “I am a disabled person. I cost the NHS, over the course of my lifetime, probably several million pounds to keep me alive.

“This Bill would put a price on my head — on the head of so many disabled people.”

When asked if he would be alive today if assisted suicide was already legal, Shinkwin responded:

“I think you have hit the nail on the head.

"Absolutely. I was in intensive care a few months ago, and had a doctor come over to me when I was extremely vulnerable and said, ‘Have you considered assisted dying?’, I would have felt under real pressure to do that.”

Ferguson reported that Shinkwin hopes to amend the assisted suicide bill while other peers are working to prevent the bill from passing.

I Threw Stephanie Green’s Book in a Toilet.

Meghan Schrader

By Meghan Schrader
Meghan is an instructor at E4 - University of Texas (Austin) and an EPC-USA board member.

In the documentary Crip Camp, there’s a 1970s video of Judy Heumann noting how oppressed disabled people are despite the new tool of Section 504, and remarking, “I’m tired of being grateful for accessible toilets.” I agree with Judy Heumann. Therefore I acquired a copy of “Dr” Stephanie Green’s book about how much she loves her job as a serial killer in a way that would not get her a royalty and flushed it down a toilet. Or rather I threw it in; it wouldn’t go down all the way.

I did this partly for the book’s sake; the book was homesick. When I looked at the book, I could hear it crying out to me, begging me to return it to its proper home in the toilet.

I didn’t really hear the book talking to me, but I stand by my decision. Generally I think well-reasoned academic arguments about the right to die movement’s historical roots in the eugenics movement and its role in exacerbating systemic ableism are the best way to undermine the euthanasia movement’s agenda. However, I wonder if every once in a while, these nice, polite discussions about killing disabled people should be punctuated with unequivocal expressions of disgust.

I threw Stephanie Green’s book in a toilet because her work conditions disabled people to aspire to be lumps of rotting flesh. Stephanie Green’s book belongs in a toilet because people like her have published a children’s book detailing disabled people’s deaths by “MAiD” that disabled children will read, causing those children to believe that they too should embrace this glorious opportunity to rot in the ground.

I threw Stephanie Green’s book in a toilet because organ transplant orgs are calling people with pending “MAiD” applications to ask for their entrails. I myself am an organ donor, but if a Canada-like system ever comes to the United States, I will cut up my ID with the little red heart on it and flush the pieces down my toilet, because I will not participate in an organ transplant system that incentivizes disabled people to die by suicide.

I threw Stephanie Green’s book in a toilet because in an equitable society, disabled people’s equal right to exist would not be up for debate. Yet the right to die movement is conditioning generations of disabled people to see themselves as nothing but organ farms. This plan for disabled people’s fourth class citizenship is so evil that it belongs in a toilet.

I threw Stephanie Green’s book in a toilet because I want to tell other people with disabilities that they deserve a good life. I want to encourage disabled readers to find the self respect to stand up for themselves and demand something better than having their lives flushed down a toilet.