Two Canadian doctors have made headlines for allegedly killing hundreds of patients. Ellen Wiebe and Stefanie Green, both members of Dying with Dignity Canada, have reportedly euthanized more than 700 patients between them. The shocking statistics come as data shows that since the legalization of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in 2016, more than 31,000 Canadians have died by euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Speaking to the New Atlantis, Green, a former obstetrician, admitted, “I find that the act of offering the option of an assisted death is one of the most therapeutic things we do.” Green likened her work of killing people to that of her previous occupation bringing life into the world. “At both ‘deliveries,’ as I call them, I am invited into a most intimate moment in people’s lives,” she said.
Similarly, speaking during a 2020 seminar about her work killing patients, Wiebe said, “It’s the most rewarding work we’ve ever done.”
The New Atlantis report, which looks at the radical state of MAiD in the country, also features Althea Gibb-Carsley, a recently-retired care coordinator and social worker of Vancouver Coastal Health’s assisted dying program. In a 2021 MAiD presentation, Gibb-Carsley highlighted what she considers to be some of the abuses of the system. She shared the story of a woman named Mary, who had chronic pain that would be alleviated by diet and nutritional changes, but who couldn’t afford to purchase what she needed.
“Mary identifies poverty as the driver of her MAID request,” Gibb-Carsley said. “She does not want to die, but she’s suffering terribly and she’s been maxing out her credit cards. She has no other options.”
Mary’s situation echoes so many of the other stories recently coming out of Canada, in which people are seeking euthanasia because they are struggling with low income, inadequate housing, or insufficient medical care. Other stories have revealed that people were offered euthanasia after they made other routine and unrelated medical requests.
One of the reasons that euthanasia deaths have risen is due to the fact that patients are allowed to “doctor shop,” in which they search for physicians who are willing to approve them for euthanasia. Wiebe admitted to killing a man who had initially been denied for MAiD because a previous assessor determined he did not have “the capacity to make informed decisions about his own personal health.” However, once she met with him virtually, Wiebe approved him for death. The man then flew to her city so she could kill him.
Canada now has some of the highest rates of euthanasia in the world, and it is showing no signs of slowing down. As the stories of Green and Wiebe indicate, even safeguards won’t stop people from seeking — and receiving — approval to receive assisted suicide.
