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OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — A Canadian psychiatrist warned MPs that a planned expansion of euthanasia to those with mental illness will lead the nation into a “suicide contagion” that could spiral out of control and lead people to “doctor-shop until dead.”
While speaking to the Special Joint Committee on “Medical Assistance in Dying” (“MAID”) or assisted suicide on April 21, psychiatrist John Maher from Barrie, Ontario, testified that expanding euthanasia in Canada will lead to the normalization of suicide.
Maher said that he recently had a patient with schizophrenia “very, very cavalierly saying, if he didn’t get a job and a girlfriend, he’s going to request MAID.”
“It’s been normalized. It’s suicide contagion,” he warned.
Maher, who is a specialist in severe mental illness and is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, noted that if the Liberal government goes ahead and allows the deadly practice for those with mental illness, it will spread what is known as the “Werther Effect.” This means that publicized suicide cases could potentially motivate others to get assisted suicide.
According to Maher, in nations such as Switzerland, which legalized euthanasia, the number of those getting it have “risen much faster after it was legalized.”
Maher then said the quiet part out loud, which is that Canadians with mental illness are indeed already getting approved for assisted suicide “under the guise of flimsy medical excuses.”
Last month, the Canadian government created the Special Joint Parliamentary Committee for MAID. It is filled with euthanasia backers, but Conservative MP Andrew Lawton is one of the few pro-life members of the committee.
The committee will determine whether Canada should expand assisted suicide to those with mental illness, but a few Members of Parliament on the committee promise to advocate for life.
The expansion of euthanasia for the mentally ill is slated to become law in 2027 as a consequence of the passage of Bill C-7.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Canada’s Catholic bishops have said they “support” Bill C-218, which is a bill that would stop the planned expansion of assisted suicide.
Recently, another psychiatrist, Dr. Mona Gupta, told the committee that those with eating disorders or depression should be allowed to die by assisted suicide.
Psychiatrist warns people will ‘doctor-shop until dead’
According to Maher, what people need is treatment for mental illness, which he said “works” and is cost-effective.
“For the last 23 years, I’ve treated patients that other psychiatrists told me could not get better, and they get better,” he noted to committee members.
However, he also warned that “patients will doctor-shop until dead” if euthanasia is expanded for mental illness.
“Prolific MAID providers are happy to assist with suicides while people are on wait lists for effective treatment,” he said. “People need lifeguards, not someone to push [them] under,” he noted.
Maher also warned that any planned safeguards will not stop those who can be cured of mental illness from trying to get assisted suicide.
Instances of Canadians being pressured into euthanasia over medical treatment have been on the rise in recent months.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, an 84-year-old Canadian Catholic woman who was offered euthanasia while at a hospital despite not being deathly ill has spoken out, saying there was “no way” she was going to “take measures to end” her life.
Indeed, as reported by LifeSiteNews, a Canadian man was euthanized just because he had partial blindness.
There has been growing opposition to the planned expansion of assisted suicide. As reported by LifeSiteNews, Cardinal Frank Leo, the metropolitan archbishop of Toronto, recently called on Prime Minister Mark Carney and all his MPs to “choose life” and allow support to a Conservative Party private members’ bill that would stop a planned expansion of euthanasia to those with mental illness.
Euthanasia is the sixth-leading cause of death in Canada, but it was not listed in Statistics Canada’s top 10 leading causes of death from 2019 to 2022.
The Liberal government under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and now Carney has worked to expand euthanasia 13-fold since it was legalized in 2016. Canada now has the fastest-growing assisted suicide program in the world. Meanwhile, Health Canada released a series of studies on advanced requests for assisted suicide.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, recently, Montreal’s Dr. Peter Blusanovics called on the Liberal government under Mark Carney to support Bill C-218.
Some provinces, such as Alberta, as reported by LifeSiteNews, will soon be placing strong limits on assisted suicide.
However, others, such as Ontario, have seemed to double down on a looming expansion of the deadly practice. Indeed, as recently reported by LifeSiteNews, the committee that oversees assisted suicide in Ontario is planning to expand with “diverse” people who hold extreme pro-euthanasia views and are “interested” in “supporting” the fatal procedure.
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