Canada’s assisted suicide program is again under the spotlight after revelations a woman in her 80s was euthanised in the province of Ontario against her will.
The woman identified as Mrs. B had recently undergone coronary artery bypass surgery and initially requested euthanasia.
But the next day she told an assessor she had changed her mind and instead wanted palliative care due to her personal and religious beliefs.
That’s according to the Ontario Chief Coroner’s Medical Assistance in Dying Death (MAiD) Review Committee.
SAFEGUARDS ERODED LEADING TO QUESTIONABLE DEATHS
Its report raised concerns that safeguards were being eroded, leading to questionable deaths ”including that of a Mrs B who severely declined after surgery complications, leading to her husband struggling to care for her.”
She had expressed her desire for MAiD to her family and her husband contacted a referral service.
The next day she reportedly told the assessor (the person sent to see if she was eligible for MAiD) that she had changed her mind.
She was taken to a hospital where her doctor applied for in-patient hospice care, but after two assessors agreed she was eligible for MAiD, she was euthanised that evening.
‘CLINICAL CIRCUMSTANCES NECESSITATED SAME-DAY EUTHANASIA”
The first assessor had sought to meet Mrs. B again for clarification, citing concerns over the apparent urgency for the procedure after the shift in her stated goals, and warning of coercion and caregiver burnout as possible risks.
The request was refused on the grounds of “clinical circumstances” necessitating same-day euthanasia.
Dr. Ramona Coelho, a member of the review committee, wrote that medical teams should have focused on providing the palliative care that Mrs. B had requested after withdrawing her euthanasia request.
“Hospice and palliative care teams should have been urgently re-engaged, given the severity of the situation,” she wrote.
SPEED OF EUTHANASIA PROVISION PRIORITISED
“The report also has worrying trends suggesting that local medical cultures — rather than patient choice — could be influencing rushed MAiD,” Ms. Coelho continued.
“Geographic clustering, particularly in Western Ontario, where same-day and next-day MAiD deaths occur most frequently, raises concerns that some MAiD providers may be predisposed to rapidly approve patients for a quick death, rather than ensuring patients have access to adequate care or exploring if suffering is remediable.”
“This highlights a worrying trend where the speed of the MAiD provision is prioritised over patient-centred care and ethical safeguards.”
The MAiD Committee emphasised that while urgent cases can warrant same-day procedures, such provisions should be rare and occur only when all legislative criteria are fully met.
Most same-day approvals involve terminal cancer patients with palliative care access, not individuals with uncertain or complex diagnoses.
“LIFE TAKEN AGAINST ONE’S WILL IS CALLED MURDER”
Mrs. B’s case, along with others like it, appeared to deviate from best practices, the committee concluded, warning that a rushed process may overlook diagnostic steps that could reveal non-terminal or treatable conditions.
Conservative Canadian MP Rachael Thomas argued on social media that Mrs. B’s “life was taken against her will.”
“That’s called murder,” she posted in one of the strongest public condemnations of the incident.
OTHER INCIDENTS OF CONCERN
The Ontario MAiD Review Committee report cited other incidents of concern:
An elderly woman known as Mrs. 6F was approved for MAiD after just a single meeting in which a family member relayed her supposed wish to die.
Her consent on the day of her death was interpreted through hand squeezes.
A man known as Mr A with early Alzheimer’s signed a waiver years earlier, but after being hospitalised with delirium, he was deemed ‘capable’ for a brief moment – and euthanised.
PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT REACTION
Catherine Robinson from Right to Life UK said Mrs. B’s case shows the risks of any legal assisted suicide program.
“The tragic case of Mrs. B is a stark warning that a legal assisted suicide service can never be perfect, and that, inevitably, tragedies like this will occur,” she stated.
“It is shameful that, when Mrs. B needed and requested high-quality palliative care and support, she instead received an early death.”
CHRISTIAN VIEW FROM KEN HAM
Founder of Answers in Genesis Ken Ham observed: “This is the natural consequence of a worldview that loves death, but masquerades as ‘compassionate.’”
“There’s nothing ‘compassionate’ about ending the lives of those who are suffering.”
“It’s exploitative and dehumanising, and it has proven to be a very slippery slope.”
“As Christians, we understand that human life has unique value.”
“HUMAN LIVES HAVE A VALUE NOTHING ELSE HAS”
“We don’t kill an elderly woman like she’s a sick dog we’re tired of caring for and that needs to be put down,” Ken Ham continued.
“Humans are made in the image of God, and their lives have a value that nothing else in all of creation has (Look to the cross of Jesus Christ to see how much value a human life has to the Creator God!).”
“We don’t have the power of life and death. We aren’t God.”
“And when we pretend that we are, the results are always deadly for the most vulnerable.”
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