The Age Of Mass Euthanasia?
A 35% jump in physician assisted suicides in Canada signals a worrisome trend for older people and the disabled who have a terminal illness

The Centers for Disease Control says adults aged 75 and older have the highest suicide rate compared to any other age group and the major reason for this is depression.
This is one reason that it is concerning that the number of “state sanctioned” medically assisted suicides in Canada rose 35% in 2022 to a total of 13,500 deaths.
The Daily Mail quotes Alex Schadenberg, director of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC), an anti-suicide group, as stating that Canada’s euthanasia rates are “skyrocketing” because a “heavy promotion within our medical system” had “normalized” lethal injections.
Reuters reports that Canada was scheduled to expand assisted suicide for people whose sole underlying condition was mental illness last year but the date was postponed until 2024.
It seems likely that medically assisted suicides also are increasing in the money-driven medical system of the United States but there is no national registry here and no one seems to be keeping track of the numbers nationally.
Under the Radar
Nine states and the District of Columbia have passed laws permitting assisted suicide. The states are Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine and New Mexico. Montana permits the practice through a state supreme court decision.
Vermont and Oregon last year removed their residency requirements to permit terminally ill people from out-of-state to access life-ending care in those states.
“We are seeing rampant ageism and ableism that are hurting the elderly and people with disabilities,” said Carolyn McDonnell, litigation director for Americans United for Life.
McDonnell expressed concern that safeguards enacted by states which offer assisted suicide to prevent coercion and abuse are ineffective. For example, she said all jurisdictions but Vermont require two witnesses to attest to a patient’s mental capacity but only one of the witnesses has to be disinterested. This means one witness could be an heir and the other his/her best friend.
Cheap, Easy Way Out
The United Spinal Association filed a lawsuit earlier this year against the state of California arguing that physician-assisted suicide violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. “Assisted suicide laws make it far too simple for the system to fall short in meeting the needs of people with disabilities, and instead provide a cheap and easy way out,” said USA CEO Vincenzo Piscopo…
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