Tag: euthanasia

Distraught family blasts Canada for euthanizing son, 26, who suffered from ‘seasonal depression’

A family has accused Canada‘s laws of ‘killing the disabled and vulnerable’ months after their son, who suffered from seasonal depression, died by assisted suicide. 

Kiano Vafaeian, a 26-year-old blind man with Type 1 diabetes, died in December using Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, which allows patients with ‘grievous and irremediable’ medical conditions to request a lethal drug. 

Eligibility was expanded in 2021 to include people with chronic illnesses, disabilities and, pending parliamentary review, potentially individuals with certain mental health conditions.

Vafaeian faced mental health struggles stemming from a car accident at 17, and according to his mother, his depression often flared during the winter months.

For years, the family had successfully prevented their son from using the program. Last year, however, Dr Ellen Wiebe, a MAID provider in British Columbia, approved Vafaeian’s death – news the family only learned about days later. 

Vafaeian’s mother, Margaret Marsilla of Ontario, alleged that Wiebe was ‘coaching’ her son on how to qualify as a Track 2 patient – those whose natural deaths aren’t deemed ‘reasonably imminent,’ according to Fox News Digital.

‘We believe that she was coaching him on how to deteriorate his body and what she can possibly approve him for and what she can get away with approving him for,’ Marsilla told the outlet.

Marsilla has since been battling fiercely to undo the Track 2 modification and to support Bill C-218, a legislative effort intended to restrict MAID for those whose only condition is a mental illness. 

‘We don’t want to see any other family member suffer, or any country introduce a piece of legislation that kills their disabled or vulnerable without appropriate proper treatment plans that could save their lives,’ Marsilla told Fox.

At 17, a severe car accident derailed Vafaeian’s college plans, and he spent years moving between family members’ homes, his mother said. 

It all came to a head in 2022: after losing vision in one eye, he became ‘obsessed’ with the assisted-suicide program. 

‘He kept on emphasizing about how he could get approved,’ Marsilla told the outlet. 

‘We never thought there would be a chance that any doctor would approve a 22- or 23-year-old at that time for MAID because of diabetes or blindness.’

That year, Vafaeian attempted to die under the program for the first time after being approved, even going so far as to schedule a time, date and location for the procedure in Toronto. 

But the plan unraveled when his mother accidentally discovered the appointment email and called the doctor, posing as a woman inquiring about MAID. She also took to social media to publicly voice her opposition. 

She taped the conversation with the doctor and sent it to a reporter. The doctor then postponed the procedure over the outcry and decided not to go through with it. 

Keep reading

Governor Hochul Signs ‘Medical Aid in Dying Act’, Bringing Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide to Troubled New York State

The culture of death is still festering in areas dominated by the Democrat party.

Yet another US state is set to implement legislation over the ‘Medical Aid in Dying’ – which is just a disguised name for the practices of euthanasia and assisted suicide.

We have been reporting on this deadly trend, especially in Canada, where it’s gotten totally out of control, as you can read in 5% of Canadian Deaths Are Now Caused by Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, Killing More Than 13.500 People a Year.

Now, it’s blue New York state that’s going down the slippery slope.

CBS6 News reported:

“Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act [on] Friday, […] making New York the 13th state and the 14th jurisdiction (Washington, D.C.) in the United States to authorize medical aid in dying.

Medical aid in dying allows eligible terminally ill adults to seek a prescription for medication they may choose to self-ingest to bring about a peaceful death if their suffering becomes too great.”

Keep reading

Canadian woman was euthanized ‘against her will’ after husband was fed-up with caring for her

An elderly woman was euthanized within hours of her husband claiming she changed her mind after insisting she wanted to live.

Canada‘s Medical Assistance in Dying laws allow patients to request a painless death if an assessor agrees their terminal condition meets certain requirements.

Patients often wait weeks, but it can happen the same day the application is lodged if judged to be medically urgent by a MAiD provider.

But a report by the Ontario MAiD Death Review Committee raised concerns that safeguards were being eroded that led to questionable deaths.

One case study was that of a woman in her 80s referred to as ‘Mrs B’ who had complications after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

She went into severe decline and opted for palliative care, and was sent home from hospital with palliative support with her husband caring for her.

But as her condition got worse, her elderly husband struggled to care for her even with the help of visits by nurses.

‘Mrs B reportedly expressed her desire for MAiD to her family. In response, and on the same day, her spouse contacted a referral service on her behalf,’ the report read.

Keep reading

New York Legalizes Doctors Prescribing Death

ew York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in an op-ed last week that she will sign a bill legalizing medical assisted suicide for adults with a terminal illness.

Hochul says she is passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act due to the “genuine and deeply held belief that government must respect the rights and will of the people it serves.” To qualify, an adult must be “mentally competent” and have a “prognosis of six months or less to live,” the bill states.

The bill also makes it clear that anyone who makes the request for medical assisted suicide must not be considered “suicidal” and taking medication to intentionally end one’s life should not be considered a “suicide.”

This move lets New York join the club of 12 states and the District of Columbia that preach suicide as a form of “medical aid in dying.”

Although the act will allow “individual doctors and religiously affiliated health facilities” to decline offering suicide as a form of treatment to those who are suicidal, doctors must “promptly” transfer requesting clients to a health care provider who is “willing to permit the prescribing, dispensing, ordering or self-administering” of suicide medication.

“I heard stories of a parent or spouse pleading for an end to the suffering,” Hochul, whose own mom died from ALS, writes. “I am all too familiar with the pain of seeing someone you love suffer and feeling powerless to stop it.”

I have never had any form of terminal illness, but I watched my mom fight cancer for five years and die. It’s no easy thing to watch and I can conclude it’s even harder to fight. Yet, that doesn’t mean we should let our government allow the terminally ill to kill themselves as a form of so-called “healthcare.”

Keep reading

“Catholic” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Moves to Legalize State-Sanctioned Suicide

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is moving the Empire State toward legalizing medical-assisted suicide, rebranding it as “medical aid in dying.”

You don’t “aid” dying. Dying happens on its own. The state is approving of the intentional ending of human life.

In an op-ed published by the Times Union, Hochul made clear that she intends to sign the so-called Medical Aid in Dying Act, which would allow terminally ill patients with fewer than six months to live to receive drugs designed to “speed up the inevitable.”

Supporters describe the proposal as “compassionate.” Opponents describe it far more bluntly: state-sanctioned suicide.

In her op-ed, Hochul attempted to wrap the legislation in lofty language about America’s founding principles, claiming that “limited government and broad individual rights” somehow justify empowering doctors to help patients end their lives.

She framed the issue as one of “bodily autonomy,” placing assisted suicide alongside abortion, LGBTQ ideology, and other far-left priorities New York Democrats have aggressively pushed for years.

For the modern Left, “choice” is the ultimate moral trump card, even when that choice involves ending a human life.

Keep reading

State-Sanctioned Suicide Is The 4th Leading Cause Of Death In Canada

Canada’s government-run euthanasia program increased its death toll again last year, taking more than 16,000 lives, and placing medically assisted suicide as the fourth leading cause of death in the country.

According to an annual report published by the Canadian government, 16,499 people were killed through the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program in 2024, increasing 6.9 percent from the previous year. Close to 75 percent of the 22,535 people who applied for the program were approved.

The report authors stated that the number of deaths is possibly stabilizing, while admitting that “long-term trends” have not yet been identified. Based on 2023 numbers, an estimated 1 in 20 deaths are government-directed.

Expanding the Death Program

The horrors of government-funded murder should not be understated. Canada’s program has grown every year since it began, as restrictions continue to loosen, despite reports of corrupt and coercive practices. Developed countries view Canada as a “cautionary tale” where government killing has become an expansive and accepted norm.

First legalized in 2016, the country’s assisted-suicide law has had multiple revisions, expanding beyond patients with terminal diagnoses.

Candidates in MAID are organized within two categories, or “tracks.” Applicants are placed in Track 1 if they have a terminal diagnosis or “reasonably foreseeable death,” while Track 2 is reserved for those who have no terminal diagnosis but are living with a “grievous and irremediable medical condition.” The majority of those killed through Track 2 were women, with an average age of 75.9 years, while men held a slight majority in Track 1, averaging an age of 78.

The government offers “broad categories … to practitioners for MAID reporting purposes,” to include cancer, neurological conditions, and “other.” The “other” category encompasses some highly treatable diseases, such as diabetes and chronic mental disorders. Hearing and visual issues are included as possible selections.

Even more striking, more than four percent of MAID applicants who were killed had neither a terminal diagnosis nor “reasonably foreseeable death.” Many suffered from isolation and felt a burden to their caregivers. The government has capitalized on these vulnerabilities and is seeking to expand its reach.

Access for mental health patients with no other underlying disease is currently being considered for approval in 2027, and in the province of Quebec, an advance request to enroll in MAID is now legal under certain conditions. This request could be granted at the onset of a disease, even if a person is unable to choose life-ending drugs due to mental or physical incapacities later on, leaving more vulnerable persons entrapped in the deadly system.

Keep reading

Democrat Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Signs Bill Legalizing Assisted Suicide for Terminally Ill

Democrat Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker expanded his state’s culture of death on Friday by signing a bill into law legalizing assisted suicide for terminally ill people. 

Illinois is now the 12th state, plus Washington, DC, that allows physicians to assist terminally ill people in killing themselves — all in the name of “choice,” compassion, and easing end-of-life suffering. Pritzker signed the bill despite concerns from opponents that such a law could be a slippery slope (look no further than Canada) and could be used to coerce people with disabilities and financial hardships to choose death. 

“I have been deeply impacted by the stories of Illinoisans or their loved ones who have suffered from a devastating terminal illness — and I have been moved by their dedication to standing up for freedom and choice at the end of life in the midst of personal heartbreak,” Pritzker said in a statement. 

“Today, Illinois honors their strength and courage by enacting legislation that enables patients faced with debilitating terminal illnesses to make a decision, in consultation with a doctor, that helps them avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives,” he continued. 

Keep reading

American Generosity Solving Canadian Socialized Healthcare Woes

Why should it fall to an American radio and television personality to solve the problems of Canadian socialized medicine?

One poor woman in our neighbor up north recently turned to Canada’s MAID program (medical assistance in dying, or assisted suicide) because she could not get a referral for a needed surgery, and the pain had become more than she could bear.

Over the past two days, TV and radio star Glenn Beck has been reaching out to assist Jolene Van Alstine of Saskatchewan to assist her. She needs surgery to remove her parathyroid gland. However, there’s no one available to do that in her home province of Saskatchewan. She can’t go see anyone outside of the province because, thanks to Canada’s socialized medicine, she’d need a referral by seeing an endocrinologist – and none of them are accepting new patients.

Glenn’s post linked to a woman who reposted part of an article from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The CBC is the media company supported by the Canadian government. 

Over the next two days, crowd-sourced tips led Glenn’s team to Jolene’s contact information, as well as appropriate surgeons who were willing to take on her care.

Glenn posted on the latest installment of the saga Wednesday, when he announced that Jolene doesn’t have a passport, but his team was working to overcome this hurdle.

Keep reading

23,000+ Canadians died waiting for health care in one year as Liberals pushed euthanasia

Over 23,000 Canadians have died while on waitlists for medical care as Liberals focused on euthanasia expansions.

According to government figures published on November 26 by Canadian think tank SecondStreet.org, 23,746 patients died on government waiting lists for health care between April 2024 and March 2025.

“What’s really sad is that behind many of these figures are stories of patients suffering during their final years – grandparents who dealt with chronic pain while waiting for hip operations, people leaving children behind as they die waiting for heart operations, so much suffering,” SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig explained.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. If we copied better-performing European public health systems, we could greatly reduce patient suffering,” he continued.

According to the data, collected through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, there has been a three percent increase of deaths while on waitlists compared to last year. The number is likely much higher, as the reports did not include figures from Alberta and some parts of Manitoba.

Data further revealed that 100,876 Canadians have died while waiting for care since 2018, thanks to increased wait times and insufficient staffing.

“It’s interesting that governments will regularly inspect restaurants and report publicly if there’s a minor problem such as a missing paper towel holder,” Craig noted. “Meanwhile, no government reports publicly on patients dying on waiting lists. It’s quite hypocritical.”

At the same time, the Liberal government has worked to expand euthanasia 13-fold since it was legalized, making it the fastest growing euthanasia program in the world. Meanwhile, Health Canada has released a series of studies on advance requests for assisted suicide.

As LifeSiteNews reported earlier this week, so-called “Medical Assistance in Dying” is responsible for more than 5 percent of all deaths in Canada in 2024.

At the same time, internal documents from Ontario doctors in 2024 that revealed Canadians are choosing euthanasia because of poverty and loneliness, not as a result of an alleged terminal illness.

Keep reading

Health Canada report finds euthanasia now accounts for over 5% of deaths nationwide

Death by doctor-assisted lethal injection, under the title Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), now accounts for over 5 percent of all deaths in Canada.

In November, Health Canada published the Sixth Annual Report on Medical Assistance in Dying, which tracked the expansion of euthanasia in 2024, with 16,499 Canadians receiving MAiD, amounting to 5.1 percent of the total deaths in Canada.

“The Government of Canada will continue its work to help ensure that the legislation on MAiD reflects the needs of people in Canada, protects those who may be vulnerable, and supports autonomy and freedom of choice,” the report asserts.

Health Canada noted that MAiD is not considered a cause of death by the World Health Organization and, therefore, “the number of MAiD provisions should not be compared to cause of death statistics in Canada in order to determine the prevalence (the proportion of all decedents) nor to rank MAiD as a cause of death.”

However, the government agency did admit that 16,499 people received MAiD in 2024, which amounted to 5.1 percent of “people in Canada who died.”

The report noted that that was “a small (0.4%) increase from 2023,” adding that “this percentage may change with final counts of deaths in Canada from Statistics Canada.”

Notably, the year-over-year increase was 6.9 percent, a significant slowdown from prior years, such as the 36.8 percent increase from 2019–2020. Health Canada suggested that MAiD provisions are beginning to “stabilize,” though long-term trends require more years of data.

According to the data, 95.6 percent of the deaths were Track 1, meaning those whose death was foreseeable, compared to only 4.4 percent being Track 2 requests, which end the lives of those who are not terminally ill but have lost the will to live due to their having chronic health problems.

“Although Track 2 provisions represented 4.4% of MAiD cases in 2024, they represented close to a quarter (24.2%) of all MAiD requests that were assessed as ineligible,” the report stated.

At the same time, internal documents from Ontario doctors in 2024 that revealed Canadians are choosing euthanasia because of poverty and loneliness, not as a result of an alleged terminal illness.

Keep reading