I canāt dispute this personās story But I have personally known someone who chose medical assistance in dying (MAID) and Iāve heard of others from people I know. There was no coercion in any of those cases. The people choosing MAID wanted to end their own suffering on their terms.
Another person close to me who is in a nursing home at age 71 because she can no longer move herself from her wheelchair has looked into MAID and found she does not meet the criteria.
Of course itās necessary to protect people from others making the decision for them or coercing them into it. But thatās no reason to make it unavailable to the many who want to use it to die with dignity when thereās no hope of recovery, and harsh suffering ahead of them.
As for abortion, those who donāt want it, donāt do it. And hands off those who do want it. Itās their choice.
Is there any financial incentive in Canada for hospitals or others to carry out āMAIDā?
A good question, @PatB. Goes beyond Canada.
Redefining deathā¦
The Hidden Crisis in Organ Transplantation ā Brain Death Diagnosis and Ethical Failures
Though the story appears under the Mercola framework the analysis is by the much respected though anonymous āMidWestern Doctorā
Itās a difficult one to read. I myself would agree with @JackieL in principle, and believe people should in general have autonomy over their own deaths. Irrespective of anyone elseās religious beliefs.
But what happens when itās run and even taken over by vested interests? You can probably guessā¦
As I say itās a difficult readā¦
Thanks @LocalYokel for raising the issue.
ED
The Hidden Crisis in Organ Transplantation ā Brain Death Diagnosis and Ethical Failures
Analysis by A Midwestern Doctor
Story at-a-glance
The concept of ābrain death,ā introduced in 1968 to enable organ harvesting, has never been proven equivalent to actual death ā it merely defines an irreversible coma
Documented cases exist of ābrain deadā patients who were conscious, including some who mouthed āhelp meā as their organs were nearly harvested
Global organ shortages have fueled a black market, with an estimated 5% to 20% of transplants involving illegal procurement and added pressure to lower diagnostic standards for ābrain deathā
Recent federal investigations found serious failures in the U.S. organ donation system: 29.3% of reviewed cases showed troubling signs, and 20.8% of patients had neurologic activity incompatible with procurement ā yet transplant coordinators still pushed to proceed
Safer, ethical alternatives exist ā such as natural therapies like DMSO that have revived ābrain deadā patients and restored organ function, removing the need for transplant
(Analysis continuesā¦)
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2025/09/12/organ-transplant-brain-death-diagnosis-ethical-failures.aspx
Do you know the source of this publication?
Iām not comfortable with this practice of posting untraceable disembodied headlines and snippets of this and that. Itās no way to debate.
I apologize for taking so long to respond to this, PatB. In Canada, MAiD is considered a medical procedure and is covered by the national health care program. There is no more incentive to carry out MAiD than there is to provide dialysis or any other basic health service.
Hereās the govāt website about it, if anyone is interested in details.
Hereās the website for the Canadian Assoc of MaiD Assessors and Providers.
@LocalYokel 's link is here
Canadian Government Has Now Euthanized 90,000 Citizens with āAssisted Suicideā Program
No doubt many or most are legit. There are true stories like this:
Canadian Woman with Cerebral Palsy Bullied by Doctors for Refusing Euthanasia, Called āSelfishā
"In addition to the alleged 2019 incidents, Hancock says she has been routinely encouraged to end her life via euthanasia.
She revealed that she feels reluctant to seek advice from medical professionals due to the consistent efforts to railroad her into being euthanized.
Hancock says she has been encouraged to take MAiD on three separate occasions since Canada launched its euthanasia program in 2016.
Doctors and nurses have repeatedly suggested that sheās a burden because she has cerebral palsy."
I guess there are people with fascistic views on āexpensiveā patients even in the medical profession. But there is more than a hint that MAID was introduced with more than human dignity in mind. Eg (as shown in the screenshot in Local Yokelās link), senators pushing MAID for āMature minorsā sends shivers down my spine, even though I would support MAID with suitable controls and in the absence of sinister political hijacking.
Well, on that we agree. Iām certainly not in favour of ending the lives of people who want to live (that would be murder). And I do understand that people who rely on others to enable them to live could feel threatened or targetted by the legality of MAiD. That doesnāt prove that they are threatened or targetted, which would be horrible and absolutely wrong.
Thanks for the link. A quick perusal of the SLAY site shows me that itās not a source I would consider reliable; I think itās biased in the extreme. (On the other hand, my sister would love it. Different strokes, etc.)
I do wonder why a US publication is so concerned about MAiD in Canada. I doubt itās because they care about the sanctity of life. I donāt see any opinion pieces there condemning the US for extrajudicial killings in intāl waters or condemning Israel for its treatment of the Palestinian people or condemning the policy of grabbing people off US streets and sending them to countries that they have no connection to, without charge or trial.
If there have been 90,000 deaths under MAiD, thatās not necessarily a bad thing. It indicates that 90,000 people were not forced to suffer needlessly against their wishes. Over 9 years, itās about 10,000 per year. About 80,000 people died of cancer in Canada in 2023 alone.
This SLAY article suggests that people are being forced or cajoled into MAiD so that their organs can be harvested. It seems to me that many or most of the people who would choose MAiD would also choose to donate their organs if possible because choosing MAiD indicates a certain way of looking at life. That is, being more concerned about quality than length of life.
Apologies for the delay. Phone issues.
My dad died of MND when I was a teen. In a perfect world, Iād be 100% behind assisted suicide. However, it is NOT a perfect world. We live in a world that deems the value of your organs as far more than your value to society.
A Canadian Paralympian, who became disabled by fighting for his country enquired into why his stair lift was taking so long. He was told it was too expensive, but he could apply for MAID immediately.
In recent news, Canadian doctors have successfully restarted a heart that was dead for 7 minutes. Iāll dig out the source.
Iām sorry to hear about your father. That must have been so hard for you and your family. Itās way too young to lose a partner and a parent.
No worries about the source re restarting the heart. I hear your concerns and they are valid but Iām still in favour of people not having to suffer and be dependent on others if they are terminally ill and donāt want to do it.
Modern medicine can keep us alive for far longer and through far more illness than nature intends.
Beyond the important concerns about organ harvesting and encouraging dependent people to end their lives to benefit others, it becomes an individual and personal choice of whether you value life for the sake of life itself as opposed to valuing life for quality of life. Iām in the latter group.
It seems to me, judging by the some of the sources and directions used to oppose MAiD, that this is being picked up as a wedge issue by people who do not truly value life or care about others.
Meanwhile in Britain;
https://nitter.poast.org/RightToLifeUK/status/1980950411713388694#m
Lord Falconer says people with ālearning difficulties or autismā could, with āproper assistanceā, access assisted suicide.
That should alarm every Peer in the Lords. Vulnerable people donāt need help to die. They need support to live.
Jackie
If the concern is important why is it being ducked, and those who raise the concern smeared?
āQuality of lifeā in the context of other peoplesā decisions on other peoplesā deaths is more a right wing trope. Nazis are an extreme example; sick people are just an economic burden etc etc.
Not so extreme actually - see this
You canāt get to the heart of the matter (see what I did there 
) by waving left and right flags. If economics is the main point of the policy then itās wrong for it to be pushed, and wrong to cheer it and wrong to pretend itās about peopleās rights.
There seems to be an understanding between governments, corporations and the media that there is a need to present sick people as a harmful drain on the economy.
In terms of showing their slip on this issue, the govt of Canada seems the worst! Surprised youāve not picked this up Jackie.
I gather you donāt like the flavour of the outlets that are highlighting it, and I understand that, but weāve seen in covid that the so-called right looked better because the so-called left abandoned opposition and embraced the policy. That may be the case here too - if policy isnāt scrutinised, populations can be sleep-walked into supporting extremist ideology. The necessary scrutiny may involve constructive interaction between political opposites on new issuesā¦ 
Cheers
Sorry for late reply.
Iād argue that Dadās death was too early. If I had been 5 years older or younger, it would have glanced instead of direct impact. Things happen.
I also believe in the right to avoid suffering. But Iāll never trust medicine again. DIY.
After dad passed, mother began to accuse me of mental health issues. She was a nurse at the time and pulled strings. I had a home visit from the county chief shrink. I had to explain myself and my feelings to this random stranger because of my motherās accusations. Really not a good day and I can still recall our conversation clearly.
It ended up with mother being referred for counselling by the shrink. I was fine.
Why do write this? Because MAID has now announced that from 2027, mental illness is all thatās needed to qualify. As youāve just read, others can accuse you of mental health issues.
This would put two of my step children into their sights. For being ruined by the MMR jabā¦
Seems to me this is a bad example as an argument against MAiD. The framing that the government euthanized the women is problematic because they chose MAiD and it is a medical procedure. Itās like saying that the government took my appendix out.
The guy in the story is upset that his grandmothers chose to die on their own terms. Itās really none of his business. And if he was so close to them, why didnāt he know that it was going to happen? Maybe they were afraid to tell him of their decisions because they didnāt want to argue about it. You donāt just make a phone call and say I want to die tomorrow. Itās a process that takes a prescribed minimum amount of time. I havenāt heard anyone say that people arenāt entitled to their grief over losing loved ones. This sounds like a controlling guy who feels entitled to tell other people what to do with their lives.
I know where I stand on this issue - Iām in favour of medical assistance in dying and I think itās an individualās right. Everyone will decide for themselves how they feel about it. I am absolutely against people being coerced or coaxed into choosing MAiD and Iām not convinced that that is happening. My impression is that the legislation is written so that it wonāt happen. I certainly donāt think of people who need help as burdens on society, economic or otherwise. Itās just a part of life. Any one of us can suddenly be someone who needs help for any number of reasons.
I get your concern but just being diagnosed with a mental illness wouldnāt put someone on a list for MAiD. According to the law, it has to be a personal choice.
Certainly the age you were when you lost your dad made it the tragedy even more difficult and traumatizing. A very hard blow for a developing psyche. You were handed a heavy burden and I hope youāve been able to come to terms with it and find some inner peace.