Euthanasia based on mental illness should never be approved

Presentation at the EPC Press Conference on October 7 in support of Bill C-218

Alex Schadenberg

My name is Alex Schadenberg and I am the Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.

EPC opposes (MAiD), also known as euthanasia, as it constitutes the killing of a human being.

Euthanasia based on mental illness should never be approved. The law requires that a person have an “irremediable” medical condition to be approved for euthanasia and yet experts, for the most part, agree that it is impossible to determine which patient is irremediable and which one will get better.

The concept of euthanasia based on mental illness as a sole criteria is particularly concerning because the person’s mental condition might be driving them to suicidal ideation. 

I recently received the following story that explains our concerns through Carling Rygielski’s personal experience. Carling wrote: 

I am 30 years old, happily married, and a mother to two beautiful children. If you had asked me when I was a teenager where I would be at 30, I would have probably answered that I wouldn’t make it to 30.

I suffered from major depressive disorder, OCD, PTSD (albeit undiagnosed until my early twenties) since I was about 14. During those years, I frequently engaged in acts of self-harm. Though I didn’t have the words to explain it at the time, it is very clear to me now why I hurt myself as a child.

By the time I was 20, I truly felt suicidal ideation was going to be a lifelong battle. Every day was agony. I knew I needed critical care when I was speaking to a friend; I heard myself audibly share a thought pattern that had become so normal for me: “Every time I enter a room, the first thing my brain does is figure out how I could kill myself in that room. It's like a safety blanket that I have an escape route.”

I am incredibly grateful for the support of my parents, therapists, and doctors who supported me during this time to find the care I needed to reclaim my life. At the age of 21, after years of trying everything else, I decided to try medication.

It saved my life.

Of course, there were still speed bumps and moments that, at the time, felt they would be never-ending. Times where there was no light at the end of the tunnel. But then there was a new day.

I never attempted suicide because of my family.

I never attempted suicide because I was scared.

I never attempted suicide because when I went to my doctor to share the battle I had been facing for 7 years, she didn’t tell me I had an option of assisted suicide. In all the conversations we had, all of the time we spent looking for solutions; MAiD was never one of them.

Every morning I wake up, I see my beautiful children. How the morning light covers them, with their sleepy eyes. I hear the sounds of the world around me. I have my coffee. I am so grateful for this life. However mundane or extraordinary, I am so grateful I made it.

Please help to fight the good fight. Vote to pass Bill C-218.

Thank you Carling for sharing your personal story.