Campaign launched by Canadian MP to prevent assisted suicide law expanding to those with mental illnesses

Image Credit: Aboodi Vesakaran / Eric Ward via Unsplash

A campaign has been launched by a Canadian MP in a bid to prevent Canada’s assisted suicide law from being expanded to allow those with mental illnesses to die by suicide.

Canada introduced its Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) bill back in 2016, which made assisted suicide legal for those who were sick with certain restrictions. However, since then, Canada have been relaxing its law to expand access to assisted suicide, whilst also coming under fire after several people have been offered assisted suicide in place of receiving the necessary and desired support to help them live.

According to Right to Life UK, the Canadian government announced a plan in December 2022 to expand the MAiD act to allow for those suffering with a mental illness to die by suicide. In 2023, the legislation was introduced and expected to be implemented in March 2024. However, the then-health minister, Mark Holland delayed the legislation saying that “the system is at this time not ready”. Thus, another legislation was introduced in 2024, with the expectation that assisted suicide will be available to those with a mental illness in 2027.

Conservative MP, Andrew Lawton has recently launched an “I Got Better” campaign in a bid to block this expansion of the assisted suicide law. Lawton, who suffered from depression himself, has urged people to share their stories of recovery to offer hope to those who suffer with a mental illness.

“I almost died by suicide fifteen years ago while battling depression. If the expansion of [medical assistance in dying] coming into force in 2027 were in place then, I’d likely be dead right now. Today, I’m launching the #IGotBetter campaign to keep hope alive for people living with mental illness”, he said, adding that his campaign is about “showing how the desire to end your life because of mental illness doesn’t have to be permanent. It’s possible for people to heal and to flourish, but not if we give up on them”.

“My goal with the ‘I Got Better’ campaign is to really put my own story out there and encourage other Canadians to do the same. And I want Canadians to be reaching out to their Members of Parliament”.

Back in June, Conservative MP Tamara Jansen proposed a Private Members Bill known as ‘The Right to Recover Act’, and seconded by Lawton, where if passed “will amend the Criminal Code to permanently stop the scheduled 2027 expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) solely for mental illness”.

When introducing her bill, Jansen had called the governments attempts to expand assisted suicide access to those with mental illness as “abandonment.”

“The message the government is sending is that struggling Canadians, trauma survivors and those battling depression, schizophrenia or PTSD are being told that death is a solution we are now willing to offer in response to a life of suffering, often compounded by harm this very society has caused them”, she said. “That is not health care. That is not compassion. It is abandonment. Mental illness is treatable, and recovery is possible, but only if we show up and help. Canadians are watching. They need us to stand up for life, dignity and hope”.

“Imagine that someone’s son or daughter has been battling depression for some time after losing their job or maybe due to a broken relationship. Imagine they feel a loss so deep that they are convinced the world would be better off without them. Now imagine this. Starting in March 2027, under Canadian law, they could walk into a doctor’s office and ask them to end their life. Under our law, the system could legally do just that”.

Right to Life UK also report that several veterans have been offered assisted suicide after suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). David Baltzer shared how after contacting Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) after serving two months in Afghanistan, the agent had suggested assisted suicide whilst Baltzer was at his lowest point.

“He says to me, ‘I would like to make a suggestion for you. Keep an open mind, think about it, you’ve tried all this and nothing seems to be working, but have you thought about medical-assisted suicide?’”, Baltzer said. “It made me wonder, were they really there to help us, or slowly groom us to say ‘here’s a solution, just kill yourself’”.

Another Amry Veteran Kelsi Sheren has criticised Canada’s assisted suicide laws, especially after becoming aware of veterans being offered assisted suicide in response to their suffering of PTSD.

“When you take people who were willing to put their lives on the line for you, for your safety, then you have the audacity to tell them it’s better if you just die … it is one of the most disgusting things”, she said.

Furthermore, Canada’s assisted suicide law has also been criticised by those in favour of assisted suicide, such as Law professor at the University of Toronto, Trudo Lemmens, who has expressed concerns over expanding the current law.

“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”, he said. “It’s like putting fuel on the fire. I’m not sure it can be easily contained”.

Sandra Parda of the Life Institute commented, saying: “It is deeply disturbing that Canada are seeking to expand assisted suicide for those who suffer with a mental illness, but bravo to the MPs that are making a stand to protect these vulnerable people.”

“The major issue with assisted suicide is that instead of offering real care to people in need, people are just turning to assisted suicide which becomes the easier and cheaper option, all the while completely disregarding that these are real people with real value and real dignity, each one deserving of compassion that does not involve telling them to kill themselves.”