Data shows that individuals from lower-income backgrounds are more likely to opt for MAiD, raising alarm about the influence of socioeconomic factors. Notably, a case involving a grandmother offered assisted dying instead of a life-saving mastectomy exemplifies these concerns. Legal experts warn that once assisted dying is legalized, there is a risk of expanding eligibility criteria, which could lead to more vulnerable individuals feeling targeted. Cardus, a Canadian Christian think-tank published a revealing report earlier this year on the state of MAID in Canada, noting that MAID is now the fifth leading cause of Canadian deaths and has now gone from exceptional to routine medical practice.
Canadian medical and legal experts have warned that opening the door to assisted dying could lead to the limitations on who is eligible being stripped away. “One of the most worrying aspects of the Canadian experiment is it shows that once you start legalising, there is a risk that a significant number of physicians normalise this practice,” said Trudo Lemmens, a professor of law at the university of Toronto who has testified before Canadian parliamentary committees on the introduction of assisted dying. The growing visibility of a slippery slope continues as advocates of euthanasia are pushing for mental health illnesses and social determinants to be included in the MAID eligibility criteria.
Original article source https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/assisted-dying-abused-in-canada-admits-group-that-helped-legalise-it/VYINCFKFHND2VMDQUIKGT46TFU/