Inclusion Canada CEO Krista Carr revealed that many disabled Canadians are being pressured to end their lives with euthanasia during routine medical appointments.
During an October 8 session of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Carr, an advocate against Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), explained that Canada’s expansion of MAiD to the non-terminally ill has led to people with disabilities being pressured to end their lives during unrelated medical visits.
“Since the bill was brought in around Track 2 MAID … that has certainly changed people’s interactions with the healthcare system,” she explained, referring to the 2021 expansion that allowed those who are chronically ill but not terminally ill to be euthanized.
“People with disabilities are now very much afraid in many circumstances to show up in the health care system with regular health concerns, because often MAID is suggested as a solution to what is considered to be intolerable suffering,” she revealed.
Overall, 116 of Ontario’s 4,528 euthanasia deaths in 2023 involved non-terminal patients, with many of those killed from impoverished communities.
Data from Ontario’s chief coroner for 2023 revealed that over three-quarters of those euthanized when death wasn’t imminent required disability support before their death.
Similarly, nearly 29% of those killed when they were not terminally ill lived in the poorest parts of Ontario, and only 20% of the province’s general population lives in those areas.
Hellbound and Down 