Atlantic article details the horrors of Canadian euthanasia

This article was published by National Review online on August 13, 2025.

Wesley Smith

By Wesley J Smith

Opponents of euthanasia have been screaming about Canada’s god-awful euthanasia machine for years. And it keeps getting worse. Now, the mainstream media — usually in the tank for assisted suicide — has finally noticed, as demonstrated by a thoroughly researched and objectively presented story by Elaina Plott Calabro.

It’s a long piece, but it’s well worth everyone’s time. Calabro discusses examples of doctors who have killed hundreds of patients, people who have had themselves killed because they couldn’t access proper support services, and many other cases. Euthanasia is Canada’s fifth-leading cause of death, with more than 15,000 patients terminated annually.

But this section really got to me. From, “Canada is Killing Itself“:

The details of the assisted-death experience have become a preoccupation of Canadian life. Patients meticulously orchestrate their final moments, planning celebrations around them: weekend house parties before a Sunday-night euthanasia in the garden; a Catholic priest to deliver last rites; extended-family renditions of “Auld Lang Syne” at the bedside.

For $10.99, you can design your MAID experience with the help of the Be Ceremonial app; suggested rituals include a story altar, a forgiveness ceremony, and the collecting of tears from witnesses. On the Disrupting Death podcast, hosted by an educator and a social worker in Ontario, guests share ideas on subjects such as normalizing the MAID process for children facing the death of an adult in their life — a pajama party at a funeral home; painting a coffin in a schoolyard.

Brr. And guess what. These patients do not receive suicide-prevention interventions. And their organs may be harvested.

When the hastening of death is legalized, it turns some suicides and homicides into a “good.” That transforms culture for the much worse. For example, a 2023 poll found that 28 percent of Canadians polled favored allowing euthanasia for homelessness.

In all of this, I am reminded of the observation made by Canadian journalist Andrew Coyne many years ago: 

“A society that believes in nothing can offer no argument even against death. A culture that has lost its faith in life cannot comprehend why it should be endured.” 

Canada is indeed killing itself. If it can happen there, it can happen here too. Caveat emptor.