As euthanasia continues to skyrocket across Canada, figures recently released from one province show just how serious the problem has become.
The Alberta Health Services statistics show a staggering rise in assisted suicide deaths, with an over 40% increase from 2021 to 2022. 594 deaths were attributed to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in 2021, and 836 in 2022. But even more drastic is the increase since MAiD was legalized in 2016; that year, there were just 63 deaths in Alberta. Since then, MAiD deaths have increased by a whopping 1226%.
Conversely, in Manitoba, there has been a slight decrease in the number of deaths from MAiD, though the number of requests has increased. In 2022, 341 requests for MAiD were made, with 314 approved, and 223 people killed.
Canada has become notorious for its assisted suicide and euthanasia program. Overall, the country saw MAiD deaths increase by over 32% in statistics for 2021, released last year. A total of 31,644 people have died since the system was legalized in 2016, and 3.3% of all deaths in Canada in 2021 were the result of legalized assisted suicide or euthanasia. Comparatively speaking, this is the same percentage of people in the United States who die from diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease.
Ethical questions have also been raised after it was discovered that Canada is the world leader in organ donation after euthanasia. Canadian reporter Marnie Cathcart pointed out for The Epoch Times that Canada “contributed to almost half of the world’s documented organ transplants occurring after euthanasia.” As a study in the American Journal of Transplantation pointed out, this practice can very easily lead to people feeling pressured into MAiD.
People have also made international headlines as they’ve begun speaking out about the reasons they have sought — and often, been approved for — MAiD. Doctors have pressured people to be euthanized, rather than getting them the medical treatment they sought. Other people have sought MAiD due solely to poverty or disabilities.
In addition to the rapid increase in MAiD, reports have found that palliative care has suffered, with doctors reporting that funds that would previously have gone to them to improve a patient’s quality of life during a terminal illness are now being used for MAiD procedures instead.
