Story of an assisted death without request or consent.

Alex Schadenberg

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director,
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The following story was shared on X by Samantha Smith on July 2, 2025.

Canada's euthanasia law does not allow killing without consent, but the story does not suggest that this was a legal act. 

I have been asked if it is a true story? (published below) I can't answer the question but we have published a true story about a similar tragic death. (Link to Aunt Mary's Story)

Medical decisions are regularly made to intentionally deny food and fluids to a person who is not otherwise dying, resulting in death by dehydration. Morally, this is euthanasia (slow euthanasia or euthanasia by dehydration) but legally it is not euthanasia because food and fluids have wrongly been defined as "medical treatment." 

Withdrawing food and fluids from someone who is not otherwise dying is different than withdrawing food and fluids from someone who is dying and nearing death. The first act causes death by dehydration, the second act recognizes that the person's body is unable to benefit from food and fluids and the withdrawal is part of a natural death.

Based on the post by Samantha Smith this man appears to have been dehydrated to death. The medical community might state that they were withdrawing treatment, in fact they killed someone by dehydration who was not otherwise dying.

Terri Schiavo with her mother.

Terri Schiavo was killed by dehydration, even though she was not otherwise dying.

There is a error with the comment that 40% of the Netherlands euthanasia deaths are done without consent. The 2021 government death study found that 517 assisted deaths were done without consent which is not 40% of the assisted deaths but rather 5.2%.

Link to the story by Samantha Smith on X.

A family member of mine is a nurse in Canada.

They performed several assisted dying procedures at the care home they worked at, before refusing to continue.

In one case, the family of a mentally disabled man decided they wanted him to be euthanised.

He didn’t want to die.

But my family member was legally forced to end his life.

They held his hand while he told them “I’m hungry” and “I’m thirsty”.

That poor man didn’t understand what was happening to him as he was pumped full of medication that would end his life, and my family member wept for the soul that was being lost unnecessarily.

He wasn’t terminally ill.

He wasn’t particularly old.

He wasn’t dying.

He didn’t want to die.

But he didn’t have a choice.

Because his life was deemed dispensable by his family, and the Government gave them the power to end his life regardless of his needs or wishes.

And when my family member told their workplace that they couldn’t continue performing these procedures — that their conscience wouldn’t allow it — they were told that it was their “legal duty” as a nurse.

They still refused.

But not everyone will have the moral fibre or bravery of my family member.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and this is exactly what the Assisted Dying Bill opens the door to.

It starts with “choice” and “dignity”.

But suicide isn’t only done “when the patient wants it”. And the countries where it is already legalised have shown us the grim reality.

In the Netherlands, 40% of euthanasia deaths occur without patient consent. In Canada, it has been offered to Paralympians who only asked for a mobility aid.

If it can happen there; it will happen here.

People 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 be killed against their will. 

More articles about euthanasia without explicit request (Articles Link)

More articles about euthanasia by dehydration (Articles Link).